RLS 122 Perspectives on Leisure – Course Text Chapter Objectives

Chapter 1 – The Profession Dedicated to Quality Living
1.	Understand specific benefits of recreation that the text cites
2.	Have a sense of the power of recreation as an economic force

Chapter 20 – Perspectives on Change:  Taking Control of Your Leisure
1.	Describe characteristics that are not changeable in humans versus those that are changeable.
2.	Describe the estimated weight change that would occur in a year if you dropped 10 calories per day from your diet. 
3.	Define the terms of attitude and interest as they relate to recreation involvement. 
4.	Understand the role that learning plays in a person’s attitudes, interests, and behaviors.  
5.	Understand the dynamics associated with attitude change (p. 243).  
6.	Know the components for developing a plan for attitude change (established goals, baseline data, contingencies and reinforcers, power of suggestion, desensitization, record keeping, and maintenance).  

Chapter 2 – Perspectives on the Language & Constructs of Leisure

1.	Be able to explain your own personal definition of leisure. 
2.	Know the difference between the qualitative and quantitative categories of leisure.
3.	Know the limits of the concept of discretionary time in the context of leisure time.
4.	Understand the 2 psychological components of Neulinger’s leisure concept: perceived freedom and instrinsic motivation.
5.	Know the difference between play, recreation, and games.

Chapter 3 – Perspectives on the History of Recreation & Leisure

1.	Discuss the role of play in the lives of early primitive people. 
2.	What was the biggest problem with the Greek culture’s leisure-oriented society? 
3.	How was leisure generally viewed during Europe’s middle ages? 
4.	How can leisure during the Renaissance Period be characterized? 
5.	Describe what is meant by the Puritan Work Ethic. 
6.	How did the American Civil War have a liberating effect on recreation and leisure in American life? 
7.	What was going on in non-European parts of the world during the Middle Ages? 
8.	Describe what is meant by the recreation movement. 
9.	What effect did World War II have on leisure in the United States? 

Chapter 6 – Perspectives on Human Development and Leisure
1.	Identify and understand the four subdivisions of human development: 
•	Physical development
•	Cognitive development
•	Personality development
•	Social development
2.	Describe the six types of play as identified by Parten (unoccupied, solitary, onlooker behavior, parallel, associative, and cooperative).
3.	What is a somatotype and what has it got to do with recreation and leisure involvement? 
4.	Describe research findings as they relate to play differences between boys and girls. 
5.	Describe what is meant by cognitive development and the role of play in cognitive development.  
6.	Understand what is meant by creativity and the role of this construct in predicting an individual child’s social adjustment. 
7.	Describe the role of personality development on one’s leisure life. 
8.	Discuss the findings related to the role that TV plays in leisure life. 
9.	Describe the role that parenting plays in leisure lifestyle development. 
10.	What is the difference between competition and cooperation in terms of leisure involvement? 

Chapter 7 – Perspectives on Work:  Leisure or Drudgery
1.	Describe the variation among different definitions of work in the text. 
2.	What are career considerations one should take in to account as it relates to your leisure life? 
3.	Describe the “Peter Principle” and its implications for life and work satisfaction. 

Chapter 4 – Philosophy, Science, & Leisure

1.	Know the two information sources philosophers rely upon. 
2.	What is a personal philosophy?  A leisure philosophy? 
3.	What does an organization’s philosophy do? 
4.	What is the difference between philosophy and religion? 
5.	Describe the role that behavioral science plays in leisure research. 
6.	What does the study of leisure contribute to?

Chapter 11 – Perspectives on Adventure
1.	What are the three factors cited in the text which explain why interest has increased in adventure activities in recent years?  
2.	Discuss the definition of adventure, and the difference between the concepts of hard and soft adventure.
3.	Understand the role of risk in adventure behavior. 
4.	What has a state of mind got to do with leisure and adventure? 
5.	Describe what is meant by the theory of flow 
6.	What are the characteristics of a person who is experiencing flow?  

Chapter 9 – Perspectives on Wellness and Leisure 
1.	Know the difference between concepts of health and wellness.  
2.	Understand the concept of risk factors. 
3.	Know the basic components of starting an exercise program. 

Chapter 10 – Perspectives on Stress
1.	Describe what is meant by stress as related in the text. 
2.	Describe each phase of stress (alarm, resistance, exhaustion)
3.	Know typical human responses for dealing with stress. 
4.	Describe the difference between acute and chronic stress. 
5.	Discuss the role that play helps in alleviating stress. 
6.	What are constructive ways of defusing stress? 

Chapter 15 – Perspectives on Questionable Leisure (or, as Dr. Rolloff calls it, ‘purple recreation’)
1.	Describe what is meant by questionable leisure as the text defines it. 
2.	Discuss the impact that questionable leisure has on an individuals’ social development. 
3.	What is the character of the impact of alcohol consumption in America? 
4.	What negative and positive effects can questionable leisure have on an individual? 
5.	Understand theoretical causes of questionable leisure.  
6.	Be able to recommend solutions to questionable leisure pursuits. 
7.	Describe the impact of television on children.
8.	Discuss possible impacts of computer-play on children.

Chapter 13 – Perspectives on Aging and Leisure
1.	What is meant by authentic identity? 
2.	Understand the adult life cycles (p. 164 – 165, 167) and whether you agree or disagree with them. 
3.	By 2030, what percent of the population will be over 65 years? 
4.	Know the social trends in ageing discussed in the chapter. 
5.	Understand what is meant by disengagement theory, activity theory, continuity theory, socialization theory. 
6.	Understand the trends in activity involvement associated with ageing.  
7.	Know that the term normative expectations refers to, and how this could affect the ageing process and leisure involvement. 
8.	Discuss the characteristics of successful ageing. 
9.	Know which construct is the best predictor of successful physical ageing: activities that are sensory motor, cognitive, or affective. 
10.	Revisit what supraoptimal and suboptimal arousal refer to. 
11.	Indicate the period of life when successful ageing starts.