Work and Leisure

Leisure and health 189childhood a tendency toward intrinsic motivation and active lifestyle. Thistendency, however, can be easily stifled by a restrictive home environment,and as Iso-Ahola (1999) has argued, it is severely undermined by the schoolsystem that strips children of their sense of self-determination or autonomyand makes them dependent on extrinsic rewards and contingencies (e.g.grades). It is further derailed after young people adopt the values of theconsumer society with its work–spend–work–spend mentality. All of thissuggests that the adoption of an active leisure lifestyle becomes a psychologicalstruggle as people get older. Again, this pattern is due to the fact theirbasic human tendency to explore, be curious, try new things, and masterchallenges is discouraged and undermined by the social system and environment.Early exposures to various activities and practices are critical in thesense that they determine what kinds of experiences and knowledge peopleaccumulate in their formative years. These practices along with cumulativeknowledge help in forming early values and attitudes toward activeness ingeneral and certain types of activities in particular.Some people succeed in acquiring knowledge and values/attitudes that areconducive to intrinsic motivation for leisure. They become cognitively awarenot only of the importance of leisure but also about their capacity and skillsto engage in various leisure activities. It further means that they are aware ofopportunities and places where leisure activities can be pursued. Such knowledge,attitudes and values toward leisure can be effective in countering theprevailing emphasis on extrinsic motivation and thus in helping rediscoverone’s innate predisposition toward intrinsically rewarding activities.Both knowledge and attitudes (and values) are ‘distal’ causes of leisuremotivation, and their influence is mediated by more ‘proximal’ factors, suchas situational constraints and facilitators. For example, constraints have lesseffect on those people’s leisure motivation whose attitudes toward leisure arepositive. On the other hand, constraints are more readily accepted as excusesfor non-participation by those who do not value leisure or think they have noleisure skills. Similarly, the influence of such facilitators as friends calling andasking to participate in an activity depends in part on a person’s underlyingknowledge and attitudes. It should also be noted that those who have a permanentpredisposition toward intrinsic motivation are less affected by thesekinds of constraints and facilitating conditions (Iwasaki & Mannell 1999).In the long term, it is possible to maintain motivation for leisure activities(and thus for health) only if one’s participation is self-determined andintrinsically rewarding. Such involvement is marked by fun, enjoyment,excitement and enthusiasm. When a person is full of excitement and cannotwait to participate in an activity, it is a clear indication that behaviour isdetermined by intrinsic motivation. On the other hand, behaviour can becontrolled by external factors or ‘intrapsychic’ pressures as well, but then thelong-term maintenance of the behaviour becomes a major problem. Thisseems to be a key for understanding why 50% of people quit their exercise