Howard E. A. Tinsley

A theory of the attributes, benefits, and causes of leisure experience

Abstract This paper reviews previous theoretical statements about the nature of leisure experience, describes a theory of leisure experience, and reviews research evidence bearing on the theory. Researchable postulates are stated regarding the nature of leisure experience and the leisure state, the conditions necessary to experience leisure and the leisure state, and the effects on the individual of experiencing leisure and the leisure state. This theory is suggested as a catalyst to stimulate and direct future research regarding the subjective experiences of persons engaged in leisure and the role these experiences play in shaping them as persons.

Leisure Activities and Need Satisfaction.

ABSTRACTThe need-satisfying characteristics of five commonly selected leisure activities (watching television; attending plays, concerts, and lectures; reading books and magazines; bicycling; and drinking and socializing) were investigated. Forty-two of the forty- five need-satisfiers studied significantly differentiated among the five activities. The need-satisfier dimensions showing the greatest discrimination among the activities were sex, catharsis, independence, understanding, getting along with others, and affiliation.

Interviewer evaluations of interviewee nonverbal behavior

Abstract Personnel representatives (N = 52) were shown one of four videotaped job interviews in which the verbal content of the 16-min interview was identical, but the interviewees nonverbal behavior was manipulated. A “low nonverbal” interviewee was defined by minimal eye contact, low energy level, lack of affect and voice modulation, and a lack of speech fluency. The “high nonverbal” interviewee demonstrated the opposite behavior on each of these components. The subjects were asked to rate the videotaped candidates on dimensions previously identified as critical in influencing a job interviewers decisions. Nonverbal behavior was found to have a significant effect on almost every rating made by subjects in this study. After reviewing the entire 16-min interview, 23 of the 26 subjects who saw the “high nonverbal” candidate would have invited him/her for a second interview. All 26 of the subjects who saw the “low nonverbal” candidate would not have recommended a second interview.

A preliminary taxonomy of leisure activities.

Descriptions of the psychological benefits of participation in 34 leisure activities were obtained from 1375 respondents who described themselves as knowledgeable participants of at least a years ...

The relationship of age, gender, health and economic status to the psychological benefits older persons report from participation in leisure activities

Abstract The psychological benefits derived from participation in 18 commonly chosen leisure activities by 1,449 persons in the 55‐to‐75 age range were measured using the Paragraphs About Leisure—Form E (PAL‐E). The data were related to the morale, physical health, economic status, age, and gender of the respondents using canonical analysis. Three canonical variates were obtained which reflected the psychological benefits of companionship, recognition, and power. The characteristics of older persons seeking each of these benefits were discussed.

Measuring vocational self-concept crystallization☆

Abstract Supers framework of vocational self-concept and self-concept system metadimensions provides a potentially fruitful approach for conceptualizing the underlying processes mediating the relationship between self-esteem and vocational indecision. Little research has been performed in this area, however, partially because of the difficulties entailed in measuring metadimensional characteristics of an internal, subjective, phenomenal frame of reference. Generally, those measures which have been suggested rely upon an externally based inference and/or they are concerned with the global subjective awareness of the person. The present report details the development and validation of a measure of vocational self-concept system crystallization which purports to circumvent these problems. The Vocational Rating Scale (VRS) is a 40-item self-rating scale which attempts to directly assess the individuals awareness of the degree and nature of patterns in his or her specific vocational self-concepts. Evidence is presented that scores on the VRS are related to the degree of certainty regarding overall self-perception, to the presence of a vocational choice independent of age, and, for females, to age across the late adolescent/adult range. As further evidence of the construct validity of the VRS, the instrument was used in an empirical confirmation of a postulate derived from Supers theoretical model.

Vocational behavior and career development, 1983: A review

Abstract This article reviews the literature related to vocational behavior and career development published during 1983. Journals in the fields of psychology, sociology, and organizational behavior were examined, and 445 relevant articles published in 42 different journals were identified. The review is organized around issues pertinent to the counseling psychology perspective (i.e., career development, vocational choice, vocational behavior of women, assessment, intervention strategies) and the industrial/organizational psychology perspective (i.e., personnel functions, worker adjustment problems, work adjustment) on vocational behavior.

Reliability and Concurrent Validity of the Recreation Experience Preference Scales

Two procedures for scoring the Recreation Experience Preference scales were investigated from using data obtained from respondents engaged in outdoor recreational activities in Pennsylvania (N = 463) and Michigan (N = 1531). Both scoring procedures were judged to yield acceptable levels of reliability and concurrent validity. In field situations where there is less time to question respondents, the briefer domain scoring strategy is preferred. When respondent time is not an issue, the scale score strategy is recommended.

Discriminant Validity of the Leisure Activity Questionnaire and the Paragraphs About Leisure

The Leisure Activity Questionnaire (LAQ) was administered to a developmental sample of 418 undergraduate college students and to a cross-validation sample of 209 students. The Paragraphs About Leisure (PAL) questionnaire, an alternative form of the LAQ, was administered to a second cross-validation sample of 215 students. Subsequent to the completion of a discriminant function analysis, the hit rates obtained in the two cross-validation samples were determined. It was concluded that the use of the PAL with results reported in terms of factor scores is the most valid and parsimonious measurement strategy of those investigated.

Test-Free Person Measurement with the Rasch Simple Logistic Model.

This research investigated the use of the Rasch simple logistic model in obtaining test-free ability estimates. Two tests each of word, picture, symbol, and number analogies were administered to college and high school students. Differences between scores on each pair of tests were analyzed to deter mine whether the ability estimates were independ ent of the tests employed. The results indicate that raw-score ability estimates are influenced by the difficulty of the items used in measurement but that Rasch ability estimates are relatively independ ent of the difficulty of these items. The need is dis cussed for additional research in which an indi vidualized item-presentation procedure is used with the Rasch model.