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HAPPINESS THROUGH LEISURE
Jeroen Nawijn
1
and Ruut Veenhoven
2
In: T. Freire (ed.), Positive Leisure Science: From Subjective Experience to Social
Contexts, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-5058-6_l 1, Springer Science+Business Media
Dordrecht 2013, chapter 11, p 193-209
1 INTRODUCTION
Happiness is important to individuals. If one were to make a judgment based on the vast
amount of self-help books available in any bookstore, the conclusion would have to be that
happiness is a very important aspect of people’s lives. Whether such books actually provide
any solutions to increase happiness is doubtful (Bergsma, 2008). Nevertheless, many are
clearly interested in happiness.
Contemplations about happiness began hundreds of years ago. Particularly, the
ancient Greeks were interested in happiness, among which Aristotle. Aristotle thought of
happiness as “living according to reason.” In his view, leading a happy life meant leading a
virtuous life (McMahon, 2006).
Since the 1960s, happiness has become a subject of empirical research in the social
sciences. The concept of happiness in these empirical studies is different from Aristotle’s
view. Rather than leading a morally good life, happiness is regarded as leading a satisfying
life. In this chapter, we focus on that latter meaning of the word.
Happiness trainings have also developed since the 1960s. Recently, interventionists
and researchers joined forces in the positive psychology movement, which aims to
strengthen individuals’ life skills, enabling them to lead happier lives. This is mainly done
through positive interventions, some of which are more successful than others (cf.,
Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). Another strand in this movement focuses not so
much on training and soul searching, but gathers objective information on determinants of
happiness, with the purpose of enabling people to make better informed choices, that is,
minimize discrepances between expected and experienced utility (Kahneman, Wakker,
1 Dr. J. Nawijn, Academy for Tourism, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands e-mail:
Nawijn.J@nhtv.nl
2 Prof. Dr. Ruut Veenhoven Erasmus University Rotterdam, Faculty of Social Sciences,
P.O.B. 1738 3000 DR Rotterdam, Netherlands and North-West University in South Africa
www2.eur.nl/fsw/research/veenhoven
Printed version: www.SpringerLink.
com
& Sarin, 1997). This chapter fits the latter strand. Striving for happiness is not futile; apart
from feeling good, being happy has several other advantages as well. One benefit is that
happiness lengthens life (Danner, Snowdon, & Friesen, 2001), because happiness protects
against becoming ill (Veenhoven, 2008). Longitudinal studies also found that happiness
fosters intimate relationships and adds to productivity at work in various ways (Lyubomirsky
& King, 2005).
In this chapter, we discuss the relation between happiness and leisure. First, the
concepts of leisure and happiness are defined. Next, we explain how leisure can affect
happiness and whether it has a positive influence on happiness. We end this chapter with an
agenda for future research.
1.1 Leisure
We identify leisure as free time which is defined as “time away from unpleasant obligation”
(Stebbins, 2001, p. 4). Stebbins distinguishes three types of leisure: serious leisure, casual
leisure, and project-based leisure. Serious leisure constitutes three kinds: career
volunteering, hobbyist activities, or amateur pursuits. Casual leisure is less substantial and
offers no “leisure career.” Project-based leisure is free time dedicated to a leisure project.
This type of leisure is short in nature, unlike a hobby. The research presented in this chapter
addresses mostly the domain of casual leisure, which is “immediately, intrinsically
rewarding, relatively short-lived pleasurable activity requiring little or no special training to
enjoy it” (Stebbins, p. 53).
In this chapter, we also address the role of tourism (i.e., leisure travel). Tourism and
leisure are not separate fields of study. Like leisure, tourism is also considered as a time free
from (unpleasant) obligations. The significant difference however is that tourism takes place
outside one’s normal environment; it includes at least one overnight stay elsewhere (UN
WTO, 1995). Leisure and tourism can be conceptualized in such a way that a synthesized
behavioral understanding of the two disciplines can be conceived (Moore, Cushman, &
Simmons, 1995). In fact, tourism may be regarded as a specific form of leisure as the
distinction between tourism and everyday life (i.e., leisure and work) is not as apparent as it
perhaps once was; tourism has very much become an integral part of life (Larsen, 2008;
McCabe, 2002). For instance, experiences that were once confined solely to tourism are now
accessible in everyday life (Lash & Urry, 1994). Tourism is also becoming increasingly
more important; the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reports an average long-term
growth rate of 4% in international tourist arrivals and predicts 1.6 billion international
arrivals by the year 2020 (UNWTO, 2008). These numbers exclude domestic trips, which
outnumber international trips by more than a factor of five (Peeters & Dubois, 2010).
1.2 Happiness
People use a variety of words to describe how well they are doing or feeling. Commonly
used terms are “well-being,” “quality of life,” or “happiness.” All of these have different -
but sometimes partly overlapping - meanings. Veenhoven (2000) proposed a classification
based on two bipartitions; life “chances” and life “results” versus “outer” and “inner”
qualities (see Scheme 11.1).
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Meanings of the Word
The upper half of Scheme 11.1 presents two variants of potential quality of life. The outer
qualities address the opportunities in one’s environment, whereas the inner qualities refer to
the ability to exploit these. Veenhoven denotes the environmental chances by the term
“livability” and the personal capacities by “life-ability.” Livability of the environment
represents good living conditions. Quality of life, well-being, and welfare are commonly
used terms for this top-left part of the quadrant. According to Veenhoven (2000, p. 6),
‘livability’ is a better word, because it refers explicitly to a characteristic of the environment
and does not have the limited connotation of material conditions.” Life-ability of the person
denotes how well individuals are equipped to cope with their life. Besides being referred to
as wellbeing or quality of life, this top-right quadrant of Scheme 11.1 is also denoted as
adaptive potential, health, efficacy, or potency. Life-ability is the main focus of positive
psychological interventions.
The lower half of Scheme 11.1 addresses the quality of life with respect to its
outcomes. Veenhoven named the external worth of life as “utility of life,” whereas the inner
valuation is termed “appreciation of life.” Utility of life presumes higher values; it
“represents the notion that a good life must be good for something more than itself’
(Veenhoven, 2000, p. 7). Appreciation of life is about the inner outcomes of life, by which is
meant the subjective appreciation of life. This has also been referred to as subjective well-
being, life satisfaction, and happiness.
The main focus of current happiness research, and therefore this chapter, is on life
satisfaction, which is defined as “the overall appreciation of one’s life as-a- whole”
(Veenhoven, 1984). Four kinds of satisfaction can be distinguished (see Scheme 11.2).
Kinds of Satisfaction
The word “satisfaction” is used with differing meanings. The fourfold taxonomy presented
in Scheme 11.2 helps us understand these differences. A passing satisfaction addressing a
part of life is what we call a pleasure, for instance, the enjoyment derived from reading a
good book or drinking a cold glass of beer. An enduring kind of satisfaction related to a part
of one’s life is referred to as a part satisfaction, which can be satisfaction with a “domain”
of life, such as leisure, or an “aspect” of life, such as the variety. A passing kind of
satisfaction relating to one’s life as-a- whole is a poetic or religious type of extasis, an
intense experience, which is called peak experience. Finally, life satisfaction (or happiness)
is an enduring kind of satisfaction with life as-a-whole (Veenhoven, 2010a). The kinds of
satisfaction addressed in this chapter are enduring kinds of satisfaction: part satisfaction (i.e.,
leisure satisfaction) and life satisfaction.
Components of Happiness
When estimating their satisfaction with life as-a-whole, people draw on two sources of
information: how well they feel most of the time and to what extent their life meets their
wants. Veenhoven (2009) refers to these appraisals as, respectively, the “affective” and
“cognitive” components of happiness and considers these as subtotals in the inclusive
evaluation of life, which he calls “overall happiness.” These appraisals do not necessarily
coincide. For instance, one can feel good most on the time but still judge that life falls short
of one’s aspirations.
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Feelings, in terms of emotions, affect, and mood, belong to the affective component of
happiness, called hedonic level of affect. Contentment is the term used to describe the
cognitive component of happiness. Contentment designates “the degree to which an
individual perceives that his aspirations are being met” (Veenhoven, 1984, p. 27).
In this chapter, we will address both overall happiness and the affective component
(i.e., hedonic level of affect). We will not deal with the cognitive component of happiness
because its relation with leisure has not been assessed empirically as of yet.
Measures of Happiness
Over the years, various methods of assessing happiness have been applied. According to
Layard (2005), the most “objective” method of measuring happiness is by means of a brain
scan. For rather obvious reasons, this is not a very useful method. Since happiness is
something we have in mind, it can also be measured using self- reports.
Self-report questionnaires or diary studies are often used in empirical studies on
happiness. An example of the latter is the experience sampling method (Csikszentmihalyi &
Larson, 1987), which is a method where participants are “beeped” on a PDA or cell phone
and are asked to record where they are, what they are doing, and how they feel at multiple
moments throughout a day, an ideal method to assess optimal experiences. An alternative
form of a diary study is the day reconstruction method (DRM; Kahneman, Krueger,
Schkade, Schwarz, & Stone, 2004), in which respondents assess the previous day in its
entirety. The most commonly used, however, are self-report questionnaires which may use
single-item questions (Abdel-Khalek, 2006) or a variety of scales to assess happiness, such
as the Positive And Negative Affect Scale (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988), the
Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), or the Satisfaction With
Life Scale (SWLS; Pavot & Diener, 1993).
The PANAS and DRM measure the affective component of life satisfaction, whereas the
SHS and SWLS are overall measures of happiness. The responses to self-report questions on
happiness are generally prompt, nonresponse is low, and temporal stability is high
(Veenhoven, 1984, 1991b).
2 CAN LEISURE AFFECT HAPPINESS?
Some theories argue that happiness cannot be changed. For instance, homeostatic set point
theory or trait theory argues that happiness is a rather stable “trait” and that whatever we do,
we cannot change our happiness. In this view, particular experiences can at best provide a
temporary uplift, after which we return to our set point (Cummins, 2005), and in that view,
leisure will not make us any happier.
How about the reality value of this theory? One implication is that happiness remains
about the same over the span of one’s life. This theory is partly based on Lykken and
Tellegen’s (1996) findings on heredity of personality traits, which are indeed quite stable,
particularly after the age of 30 (Costa & McCrae, 1994). Yet happiness appears to be a
“state” rather than a “trait.” A research synthesis by Veenhoven (1994) showed that
happiness is stable in the short run, but not over the lifetime. Furthermore, happiness is not
insensitive to fortune or adversity, and the genetic base of happiness is modest at best. More
recently, Headey (2008, 2010) showed that set point theory overstates the stability of
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happiness; some groups ofpeople at least experience substantial permanent upward or
downward changes in life satisfaction.
1.1 Comparison theory
is a cognitive theory of happiness and holds that we base our happiness on the estimation of
the gap between the realities of our lives and common standards of the good. Standards of
comparison are deemed variable rather than fixed, and subjective evaluation of life is
considered unrelated to the “objective” quality of life (Veenhoven & Ehrhardt, 1995).
Comparison theory disregards the affective component (Veenhoven, 1991a; Veenhoven &
Ehrhardt, 1995). Crossnational research has failed to find evidence supporting the
assumptions of comparison theory (Veenhoven & Ehrhardt), whereas research between
groups of individuals (happy versus unhappy) has found evidence that supports comparison
theory (Lyubomirsky & Ross, 1997). Comparison theory allows for an effect of leisure on
happiness. Leisure participation, the way one spends their leisure time, and the time which is
available for leisure could be part of comparison between individuals or groups of
individuals within a particular society.
Other cognitive happiness theories, such as goal theory, also imply that leisure can
influence happiness. Consumer behavior is predominantly goal-directed. A goal focuses on a
specific outcome, but is not limited to such an outcome. Goals also encompass experiences
and sequences of events (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 1999). Several studies in the field of
happiness have shown that the pursuit of personal goals and progress on (important) goals
are strong predictors of happiness (Brunstein, 1993; Emmons, 1986, 1992; Omodei &
Wearing, 1990; Palys & Little, 1983). However, people may adopt certain goals which are
not congruent with their needs (Diener, 2000), striving for such goals will not increase
happiness. Similarly, Kasser and Ryan (1993) found that happiness does not increase when
people make progress on certain goals, such as “making money.” Their interpretation is that
certain goals meet intrinsic needs and those affect happiness, whereas others meet extrinsic
needs and do not affect happiness. Additionally, McGregor and Little (1998) found that
perceived efficacy is related to happiness. Low expectations of success are associated with
negative affect (Emmons, 1986). Thus, in the case of leisure, striving for leisure goals which
are congruent to an individual’s needs and wants should increase happiness. Like other
cognitive happiness theories, goal theory ignores the affective component of happiness.
1.2 Livability theory
or need theory is an affective theory of happiness which posits that the subjective
appreciation of life is based on the “objective” quality of life. Livability theory focuses on
absolute quality of living conditions, whereas comparison theory focuses on the relative
difference. Thus, according to livability theory, people are happier in good living conditions
compared to bad living conditions, even if they know that others are better off (Veenhoven
& Ehrhardt, 1995). This theory presumes that there are basic human needs and that
happiness increases when these needs are met (Diener & Lucas, 2000). In this view,
happiness mirrors the degree to which innate needs are met (Veenhoven, 2009). Cross-
national research supports the assumptions of livability theory (Veenhoven & Ehrhardt),
particularly the relation between economic growth and its influence on years lived happily
(Veenhoven & Hagerty, 2006). In this view, leisure can contribute to happiness if it
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is instrumental in meeting human needs. If so, people will be happier in societies that have
cultivated leisure compared to societies that have not.
Diener and Lucas (2000) concluded that most of the aforementioned theories are not
mutually exclusive and proposed an inclusive evaluation theory, which involves evaluating
incoming information that is relevant to well-being. They argue that desires, goals, and
needs are chronically salient standards and consequently have ongoing effects on happiness.
Past comparison and social comparison are only relevant in evaluating one’s happiness in
specific circumstances.
Thus, from a theoretical perspective, there are several ways in which leisure may
contribute to happiness of individuals. Comparing one’s leisure time and activities to others
who are better or off, or worse off, could affect happiness. Another possibility is to strive for
goals, congruent with one’s needs. Pursuit and progress on these personal goals would
positively affect happiness. Finally, when basic human needs are met to a great extent, this
may allow for more leisure time and opportunities to spend this time according to one’s
needs, which would be beneficial to individuals’ happiness.
3 HOW PERSONALITY INFLUENCES LEISURE AND HAPPINESS
According to Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade (2005), approximately 50% of an
individual’s happiness is predetermined through heredity, 10% is determined by
circumstances, and 40% is affected by intentional activity. The domain of leisure falls within
the 40% of the happiness spectrum which is affected by intentional activity. The 50% set
point probably reflects, to a large degree, personality traits (McCrae & John, 1992), which
are highly heritable (Tellegen et al., 1988), although there is reason to believe that this
genetic set point is likely to be lower than 50% (Headey, 2008, 2010).
The five-factor model of personality (FFM or Big 5) is a “hierarchical organization
of personality traits in terms of five basic dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness,
conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience” (McCrae & John, 1992, p.
175). Even though the model is widely accepted, there remain disputes over the amount of
factors (too few or too many) and the best interpretation of the factors (Becker, 1999). Quite
possibly, there are other dimensions of personality not covered in the FFM.
The five traits are heritable (25-45%; Larsen & Buss, 2002). The highest degree of
heritability is associated with extraversion and neuroticism (McCrae & John, 1992).
Personality influences relationships, goal striving, and life events. Costa and McCrae (1994)
found that personality traits are relatively stable after the age of 30, which has been
confirmed by others (Soldz & Vaillant, 1999). The role of extraversion in regard to
happiness has been researched extensively (Argyle & Lu, 1990b; Diener, Larsen, &
Emmons, 1984; Diener, Sandvik, Pavot, & Fujita, 1992; Moskowitz & Cote, 1995; Pavot,
Diener, & Fujita, 1990). The presence of positive affect is predominantly related to
extraversion (Rusting & Larsen, 1997).
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These studies have concluded that extraverts are more sensitive to positive mood induction
than introverts (Larsen & Ketelaar, 1991; Rusting & Larsen, 1997). Extraversion is related to
positive affect through more indirect mechanisms (Argyle & Lu, 1990b; Pavot et al.), and
extraverts are happier than introverts (Diener et al., 1992; Pavot et al.). Extraverts are more likely
to be more involved with people and consequently have a greater circle of friends (Myers, 1993).
Personality traits not only influence happiness but also have an influence on how
individuals make use of their leisure time (Hills & Argyle, 1998; Kraaykamp & Van Eijck,
2005; Melamed, Meir, & Samson, 1995). Kraaykamp and Van Eijck found that openness to
experience has a positive effect on book reading and outdoor arts attendance. Openness to
experience stimulates interest in complex and exciting recreational activities. Furthermore,
they found that conscientiousness had a negative effect on participation in difficult or
unconventional activities. Extraverts feel generally much better in high-stimulation
situations. Although leisure situations are not necessarily more activating than work
situations, extraverts tend to use their leisure time for more activating activities; extraversion
is positively associated with leisure pursuits (Argyle & Lu, 1990a; Brandstatter, 1994; Hills
& Argyle, 1998; Lu & Hu, 2005). Additionally, individuals who score high on extraversion
have stronger social motives, which are more easily satisfied in leisure (Brandstatter, 1994).
People who score high on extraversion and neuroticism also watch more TV soap operas
(Hills & Argyle, 1998; Lu & Argyle, 1993).
As personality partially influences how leisure time is spent, it is important to find
leisure activities which are congruent with one’s personality (i.e., leisure congruence).
Leisure congruence is found to be positively associated with work satisfaction and
negatively with burnout and somatic complaints. Individuals who selected congruent leisure
activities had higher work satisfaction (31%), higher self-esteem (20%), less burnout (21%),
fewer somatic complaints (17%), and less anxiety (17%) compared to those who lacked
leisure congruence (Melamed et al., 1995).
In sum, personality has an influence on how individuals allocate their leisure time,
and personality also partly determines how happy individuals are. Even though personality
traits are highly heritable, there are still many opportunities for individuals to affect their
happiness by finding leisure activities which are congruent with their needs.
4 RESEARCH FINDINGS ON LEISURE AND HAPPINESS
Although leisure has been a frequent subject of empirical research (Stebbins, 2001), the
relation between leisure and happiness has not received much attention to date. The
available research results have been gathered in the World Database of Happiness
(Veenhoven, 2010d). All the literature on this subject can be found in its Bibliography of
Happiness (Veenhoven, 2010b), subject section Happiness and Leisure (code Le). By the
end of 2010, there were 100 publications in this category.
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Findings yielded by studies that used acceptable measures of happiness are presented in the
collection of correlational findings. One of the reports in this collection, “Happiness and Leisure”
(code L3), contained 190 findings at the end of 2010 (Veenhoven, 2010c). We summarize
the main findings in the following sections.
4.1 Work and Leisure
Work, leisure, and happiness are interrelated (Haworth, 1997). Leisure is used by individuals
as an opportunity to cope with work stress (Trenberth, Dewe, & Walkey, 1999) and working
conditions influence leisure satisfaction (Near, 1984). The passive aspects of leisure are well
suited to cope with work stress (Trenberth et al.).
Loss of work is associated with lower life satisfaction as the unemployed are less
happy than the employed (Böhnke & Kohler, 2008; Winkelmann & Winkelmann, 1998).
Additionally, the unemployed are less happy about their home life (Fogarty, 1985), which is
considered a part satisfaction (see Scheme 11.2). The effect of unemployment is three times
stronger than that of bad health, and younger people are more strongly affected by
unemployment (Winkelmann & Winkelmann).
Not only paid work is associated with happiness, volunteer work is associated with
happiness as well (Boelhouwer & Stoop, 1999; Böhnke & Kohler, 2008; Thoits & Hewitt,
2001). Happy individuals are more active in volunteering and additionally, volunteering
adds to their happiness. Thus, there is evidence that there exists a positive cycle of selection
and social causation processes (Thoits & Hewitt). Whether self-selection or social selection
is the predominant factor in choosing to engage in volunteer work is unclear. Thoits and
Hewitt argue that in some circumstances, it is likely that both these processes occur. All the
findings on work and leisure, except where indicated, are based on measures of overall life
satisfaction (bottom-right quadrant of Scheme 11.2).
4.2 Leisure Activities
Leisure activities can be either passive or active. For instance, watching a sports game on
TV would be considered passive participation, whereas participating in a sports game would
be considered active participation. Leisure activities produce positive moods, and much of
this derived pleasure stems from the social relationships that they foster (Hills & Argyle,
1998). Participation in social activities is associated positively with happiness (Ragheb,
1993), and frequency of participation in leisure activities is also associated with happiness
(Baldwin & Tinsley, 1988; Dowall, Bolter, Flett, & Kammann, 1988; Lloyd & Auld, 2002;
Wankel & Berger, 1990). However, participants are not necessarily happier overall
compared to nonparticipants. Churchgoers are happier than those who do not attend
religious services (Böhnke & Kohler, 2008), although the frequency of church visits is not
associated with happiness (Nawijn & Veenhoven, 2011).
All the aforementioned findings are about overall life satisfaction. Flow is a state in
which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). A state of flow could be regarded as a peak experience (bottom-
left quadrant in Scheme 11.2). Research on flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, 1990, 1998) finds
that optimal experiences are most likely to occur during structured leisure activities and
when reading (Della Fave & Massimini, 2003). Reading had been associated, in a positive
way, with happiness by Ragheb (1993), but Nawijn and Veenhoven (2011) failed to find a
significant association between frequency of reading and general life satisfaction.
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Watching TV generally relates negatively to overall happiness (Bruni & Stanca, 2006, 2008;
Della Fave & Bassi, 2003; Frey, Benesch, & Strutzer, 2005). Still, TV watching is a source
of pleasure (top-left quadrant in Scheme 11.2), though certainly not the most pleasurable
activity. In their analysis of 21 different activities, Krueger et al. (2009) found that walking,
making love, exercise, playing, and reading are the most enjoyed activities, in both their
French and US samples. Least enjoyable activities were housework, travel, shopping,
computer/email/Internet, taking care of one’s children (only in US sample), commuting, and
working. Serious leisure (Stebbins, 2007), in the form of hobbies, is deemed particularly
important for happiness. The limited data available on this subject suggest that people who
have a hobby are happier than those who do not (Boelhouwer & Stoop, 1999).
The way in which leisure activities influence happiness is related to age or certain
cohorts. Being active in later life is positively associated with overall life satisfaction
(Nimrod, 2007). Social activities and travel are associated with happiness for those aged 65-
74. Those aged 75 or older are the happiest, spending time with family and doing home-
based activities (Kelly, Steinkamp, & Kelly, 1987).
4.3 Leisure Travel
Holiday trips potentially add to individuals’ happiness in several ways. Vacationing may
have a direct effect on an individual’s happiness by anticipating a trip, which would allow
for increased hedonic level of affect. Similarly, savoring the holiday experience through
memories may induce an “afterglow” effect, which could cause higher post-trip levels of
hedonic affect. Finally, during the trip itself, people feel supposedly better than they do in
everyday life.
Individuals may also benefit from vacationing in a more indirect way by benefiting
from impressions or skills learned while on vacation, for instance, having learned a
language, understanding a culture, or having made new friends. Recuperation is also deemed
an important vacationing benefit.
Recent research has mostly supported the direct way in which vacationing adds to
individuals’ happiness (Boelhouwer & Stoop, 1999; De Bloom et al., 2010; Hagger, 2009;
Nawijn, 2010; Nawijn, 2011b; Nawijn, Marchand, Veenhoven, & Vingerhoets, 2010). For
instance, people who had recently had a holiday trip score higher on overall happiness than
those who did not (Boelhouwer & Stoop, 1999), which supports the afterglow hypothesis.
However, increased levels of post-trip happiness seem to be the exception rather than the
rule. Only those who have a stress-free holiday benefit - in terms of hedonic level of affect -
from such afterglow effects and only for 2 weeks (Nawijn et al.). Vacationers anticipating
holidays strongly score higher in overall happiness and hedonic level of affect than those
who anticipate holidays to a lesser extent (Hagger, 2009). Vacationers also experience
higher levels of hedonic level of affect than non-vacationers several weeks before the trip
starts (Nawijn et al.). While on holiday, vacationers are generally in a good mood (Nawijn,
2010), which is much better than their mood in everyday life (De Bloom et al.; Nawijn,
2011). The long-term effect of vacationing on overall happiness and hedonic level of effect
is virtually nonexistent (Nawijn, 2011a).
4.4 Leisure Satisfaction
Ateca-Amestoy, Serrano-del-Rosal, & Vera-Toscano (2008, p. 65) define leisure satisfaction
as follows (based on Beard and Ragheb (1980)): “positive perceptions or feelings that an
individual forms, elicits, or gains as a result of engaging in leisure activities and choices.
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It is the degree to which one is presently content or pleased with one’s general leisure
experiences and situations. This positive feeling of pleasure results from the satisfaction of
felt or unfelt needs of the individual.” Satisfaction with leisure appears to be positively
associated with happiness (Ateca-Amestoy, et al., 2008; Lloyd & Auld, 2002; Ragheb, 1993;
Spiers & Walker, 2009).
Satisfaction of life domains correlates fairly strongly with life satisfaction (Ateca-
Amestoy et al., 2008; Lloyd & Auld, 2002; Van Praag & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, 2004; Van
Praag, Frijters, & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, 2003). Part satisfactions (see Scheme 11.2) of finance,
health, job, and leisure are the four most important correlates with life satisfaction in
Germany (Van Praag et al.). The strength of the effects varies among workers and
nonworkers and between East and West Germany, with western non workers scoring
highest.
4.5 Conclusion
Casual leisure and leisure travel typically provide temporary happiness boosts which are the
strongest in the moment itself. In the case of leisure travel, vacationers are happier on
holiday compared to everyday life. Little is known about project-based leisure and serious
leisure; the limited data and theoretical assumptions suggest a positive effect on happiness.
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5 AGENDA FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
Research in the relation between leisure and happiness is still in its infancy, and there is a
dire need for future research. We present a brief overview of themes for further
investigation.
5.1 Beyond Casual Leisure
The studies to date have focused mostly on what Stebbins (2001, 2007) refers to as casual
leisure. Little or no research has been undertaken in the areas of project-based leisure and
serious leisure. Within leisure travel research, the focus has been on the direct effects of
vacationing, not on the possible indirect effects. Project-based leisure and serious leisure
may add to happiness through goal striving. A hobby or a project seems particularly suited
to work on goals. A project is essentially a goal in itself. On top of that, projects and serious
leisure activities generally last longer than leisure travel or casual leisure. The outcome of
future studies on project-based leisure and serious leisure and their effect on happiness could
therefore be quite promising.
5.2 Specification
The question is not so much whether leisure adds to happiness, but what kinds of people
benefit most from what kinds of leisure. Effects of leisure are probably not the same for the
young and the old or for singles and couples. Specification is not only of interest to the
leisure industry, but it is also in the interest of consumers. This kind of research requires
large samples, and it is necessary that different populations are involved. In this context, we
note that the available data mainly draw on samples in rich countries. Little is known about
the importance of leisure and the allocation of free time in less developed countries and its
relation to happiness.
5.3 Cause and Effect
Since most existing studies are cross-sectional, we are inadequately informed about
causality. There is a dearth of research on the effects of happiness in leisure preferences and
behavior, and we are also largely in the dark about causal mechanisms. Follow-up studies
are needed for that purpose, preferably long-term follow-up studies that also involve
personal characteristics, such as personality and health. Since such follow-up studies are
very expensive, it is wise to join forces with existing panels, such as the German Socio-
Economic Panel or the Happiness Monitor (Oerlemans, 2009).
Jeroen Nawijn & Ruut Veenhoven
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5.4 Test of Theories
Lastly, happiness theories should be tested in a leisure context. Sirgy (2010) recently
proposed a research agenda for goal striving in relation to leisure travel. The hypotheses that
he proposed can be tested within other leisure domains as well. Additionally, comparison
and need theories lend themselves for (further) testing in studies on leisure.
Scheme 11.2
The four kinds of satisfaction
Scheme 11.1
Four qualities of life
Outer qualities
Inner qualities
Life chances
Livability of environment
Life-ability of the person
Life results
Utility of life
Appreciation of life
Passing
Inner qualities
Part of life
Pleasure
Part satisfaction
Life as a whole
Peak experience
Life satisfaction
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