Enjoyment and the good life: the less-advertised benefits of parks and recreation. (Research Update).

One of the unique qualities of parks and recreation services is its goal of bringing about enjoyment and the good life. Since the origins of public recreation and parks in the U.S., the charge has been, in part, to provide for Americans' pursuit of happiness. These notions of enjoyment and the good life relate to other terms, including quality of life, life satisfaction, subjective well-being, intrinsic motivation and flow.

With its focus on individual, community, environmental and economic outcomes, the "benefits" movement has served the profession well as a foundation for documenting important extrinsic benefits of parks and recreation. Professionals shouldn't forget, however, that the outcomes related to enjoyment are still at the core of what makes our profession unique and valuable among other human service areas--we facilitate fun and intrinsically motivating experiences. Although the values of our profession go beyond "fun and games," enjoyment is, at all times, central to our work. Therefore, parks and recreation professionals would do well to remember the unique thing they do best--providing people opportunities for enjoyment. The purpose of this research update is to inform parks and recreation professionals about what recent research tells us about enjoyment and the good life, and to indicate what applications this research has for practitioners.

The Good Life and Leisure Services

What do people need to know to pursue the good life, and what roles do leisure service providers have in maximizing people's enjoyment? Nearly 2,500 years ago, Plato taught that one of the most important things people could learn was how foolish it was to run away from leisure by working too much (Hunnicutt, 1990). Other lessons from Plato's academy had to do with choosing the "right things" to do with leisure. These right things were described by the word eudaimonia, which meant "living well." Living well was the exercise of moral virtue and excellence of character through engaging in activities that had no end apart from themselves (i.e., intrinsic motivation) (Ackrill, 1997). Therefore, one approach leisure service providers can take is to educate people that the good life can be one in which a person doesn't work excessively and uses freedom to seek activities that promote excellence of character and provide intrinsic satisfaction. We are all in the "business" of leisure education, and Americans can ostensibly benefit by reflecting on how making time to pursue intrinsically satisfying activities can increase their life satisfaction.

Happiness, Subjective Well-Being and Intrinsic Motivation

Many psychologists have examined aspects of happiness and subjective well-being (Argyle, 1987; Myers, 2000; Parducii, 1995; Strack, Argyle & Schwartz, 1991). Some researchers have attempted to measure the emotional side of happiness, including being in a good mood, while others have attempted to measure the cognitive-reflective side associated with quality of life. A person's overall satisfaction seems to be a general factor associated with happiness.

Happiness occurs in various ways, and it's often seen as a reflection of satisfaction with life. Happiness, however, may also be found in full engagement in the present through involvement in creative endeavors, or may occur in repose or quite peacefulness. To become happy, one needs to open oneself to the delights of pleasure and the many wonderful things to enjoy in the world, such as food, art, poetry, music, science and adventure. These pleasures extend beyond the physical to include an expansive view of life--enjoying many things--and cultivating one's tastes (Kurtz, 1998). Subjective well-being offers a way of understanding people's happiness and many of the other intrinsic factors associated with life and leisure.

Ryan and Deci (2000) proposed that what constitutes a good life is people thinking they're living good lives. This idea, known as subjective well-being, refers to people's mental and emotional evaluations of their own lives. In fact, it's people's evaluation of one's own life--whether they perceive many pleasant things, engage in interesting activities and are satisfied with their life in general--that contribute to happiness (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Enjoyment, fun, pleasure, play and optimal experience are all important aspects of recreation activities, and these pleasant emotions, experienced while engaging in interesting activities, can further an individual's sense of happiness.

Recent research has attempted to assess what subjective well-being is and how it can be measured and associated with indicators of happiness (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Ryan and Deci concluded that societies need to place the same importance on subjective well-being that they do on economics by measuring it, sharing the results and educating people. If subjective well-being was tracked on a national level, it would likely begin to influence policy decisions (Ryan & Deci, 2000). For example, Oishi and Diener (2001) found that independent goal pursuit, such as looking for fun and enjoyment, increased people's goal attainment in other areas. A person might learn by seeking activities with the goal of enjoyment, and discover other positive outcomes, such as friendship, job networks and improved health.

Researchers have examined the relationship between income and happiness. In nations where Gross National Product is greater than $8,000 per person, there's no correlation between national wealth and the happiness of citizens (Myers, 2000). For people who have enough money to live comfortable lives, more money provides diminishing returns on happiness. People with substantial incomes agree that money can make them both happy and unhappy, depending on how it's viewed. Clearly, modern materialism alone hasn't made people happy (Myers, 2000).

Understanding what people find enjoyable can help leisure providers facilitate programs. Csikszentmihalyi (1975; 1990) conducted some of the earliest work that attempted to measure enjoyment, Csikszentmihalyi (1990) suggested that enjoyment is characterized by forward movement, a sense of novelty and accomplishment. He noted that joy comes from being fully involved and in control of a challenging situation, as well as from doing one's best at a particular time. Further, Csikszentmihalyi (1997) noted that happiness comes from creating new things and making discoveries. Although people often think of these attributes arising from creative work, they may also arise from leisure and recreation.

Csikszentmihalyi (1997) noted that people spend many hours a week in their avocations, and they remain motivated by the quality of the experience they feel at the time. He described this quality experience as "flow," which suggests an almost effortless yet highly focused state of consciousness. Enjoyable experiences are characterized by clear goals, immediate feedback, a balance in challenges and skills, a merger of action and awareness, no worry of failure, a disappearance of self-consciousness, the exclusion of distractions, the distortion of time and focus becoming an end in itself. He found that the more flow people experience in their daily lives, the more they're likely to feel happy overall. This link between flow and happiness depends on whether the activity is rewarding, and whether it leads to new challenges and personal and cultural growth. These same feelings of well-being are well-documented from people's participation in a wide variety of recreational experiences. Whether a person finds the potential for flow depends to some extent on the state of mind regarding how the challenge connects to skill level and perceived competence.

Flow is related directly to intrinsic motivation, which involves people freely engaging in activities they find interesting, novel and challenging (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Deci and Ryan found that perceived autonomy is necessary for intrinsic motivation, and that when people feel competent, autonomous and responsible for their performance in an activity, they're more likely to be intrinsically motivated. Relatedness also plays a role in intrinsic satisfaction, particularly in the sense that people who feel secure in their relatedness to family and friends will be able to rely on these family and friends as a security backdrop. A person can then take risks that result in rewarding challenges and opportunities for growth.

Leisure, Happiness and Life Satisfaction

What people do in their free time is often much less constrained than what they do in their work (Argyle, 1987). Because freedom and choice are associated with leisure, the potential for autonomy and enjoyment are great. Professionals who facilitate recreation opportunities have the opportunity, perhaps more than any other profession, to offer avenues for people to find enjoyment and happiness. Research has shown that perceived choice, or freedom, is a critical regulator and determinant of intrinsically motivated leisure experiences (Iso-Ahola, 1999). The opportunity to choose enhances intrinsic motivation, while the lack of choice undermines it (Deci & Ryan, 2000). People will seek out activities that are likely to provide them with intrinsic rewards, and a sense of autonomy and competence (as in that gained through flow) is important.

Few studies in leisure research have examined enjoyment specifically. A study conducted by Holt, Garcia and Strean (2001) examined how fun and enjoyment played into youth's involvement in organized youth sports. Individuals identified a number of personal qualities that made sports fun, including displaying humor, calmness and enjoying what they were doing. Deci and Ryan (2000) found that the sense of competence gained through competition can be intrinsically motivating, but cautioned that pressuring people to win can decrease motivation. Deci and Ryan suggested that providing positive feedback for performance enhanced intrinsic satisfaction, when it was given in a way that didn't eclipse the person's sense of autonomy. They also suggested that children are intrinsically motivated by positive attention from adults during activities.

The relationship between health and quality of life has been examined in a number of ways. Aspects of quality of life lie somewhere between the notion of health as a state of complete physical, mental or social well-being, and getting beyond illness. A sense of well-being appears to be central to feeling healthy, physically as well as mentally. Health, like leisure, appears to be socially valued and a meaningful resource that may add or subtract from the quality of life (Musschenga, 1997).

Research about disability and happiness is also important to consider. Meyers (2000) found that many people with disabilities have high levels of happiness. People with physical and intellectual impairments are able to experience and articulate their satisfaction, pleasure and joy. Focusing only on functional independence misses other quality-of-life measures. Although clinical outcomes are useful, Meyers suggested that happiness ought to be an outcome measured in medical and public health programs.

Measuring Life Satisfaction

Common sense tells us that when people have a choice, they undertake activities because they anticipate they'll be enjoyable (Henderson, Glancy, & Little, 1999). The most intrinsically satisfying of these activities are those that the individual perceives as interesting, novel and challenging. Measuring these constructs, however, can prove difficult. Assessments of enjoyment are difficult to make, because happiness frequently lies only within the perspective of the participant. Although society often places much weight on the extrinsic benefits of recreation activities such as weight loss, how much enjoyment occurs may be equally important as a psychological outcome. Henderson and Ainsworth (2002) found that, if a person isn't enjoying an activity, the activity may be discontinued.

Historically, self-report questions have been used to measure happiness and subjective well-being (Diener, 2000; Myers, 2000). A self-report question that asks how much enjoyment a person received from a program can be included on evaluations. Moreover, when conducting community-needs assessments and evaluations, it may be useful to ask people to self-report how important park and recreation facilities and programs are to their overall sense of life satisfaction. This type of data may make a difference in resource allocations in the future.

Providing Pleasure

Intrinsic outcomes are a central part of what defines leisure experience, yet we're just beginning to understand what these effects might mean. Although terms like "fun" or "enjoyment" may be difficult to operationally define, people know when they're experiencing them. Even though these notions are personal and deeply embedded in culture, parks and recreation professionals can focus on how to create conditions whereby activities can be enjoyable (Henderson et al., 1999; Walker, Deng, & Dieser, 2002). Without enjoyment and happiness, parks and recreation is just another community service.

The value of parks and recreation in providing enjoyment and pleasure lies in the purposes that have been associated with public parks and recreation since their inception at the turn of the 20th century (Henderson et. al, 2001). A number of questions remain to be asked about how parks and recreation might contribute to happiness. For example, what's the difference between the pursuit of happiness and the purchase of happiness? What's the difference between happiness of the moment and long-term happiness, and how does civilization enhance happiness? (Foran, 1998).

Subjective well-being is a complex issue to understand and study. It is, nevertheless, central to living life to its fullest. Recreation and leisure, as much as any other endeavor that a human might undertake, offer the potential for enjoyment and the good life. The extent to which our profession embraces these intrinsic outcomes is indispensable if we extol the contributions of parks, recreation and leisure services for enjoyment and the good life of our clients.

RESEARCH INTO ACTION: ENABLING ENJOYMENT

In an age when the profession tends to focus on extrinsic benefits, park and recreation providers should remember the importance of intrinsic satisfaction as well. The following suggestions provide ways that park and recreation professionals can apply research about enjoyment and the good life to ensure that facilities and programs are all that they can be.

Think about the potential "fun" outcomes that might result from involvement in an activity. Nothing is wrong with individuals finding uncertainty, creativity, imagination, glee, playfulness or goofiness in what they undertake in parks and recreation programs.

Although the benefits of parks and recreation should be articulated and measured often, the affective components, such as enhancing life satisfaction, can't be overlooked when talking about why facilities and programs are important. Community-wide needs assessments and evaluations of park and recreation facilities and programs should ask how much these facilities and programs contribute (or are likely to contribute if provided) to happiness and overall life satisfaction. This information could be influential in policy decisions and resource allocations.

Evaluations of recreation programs should have questions about enjoyment and perceptions of happiness surrounding an activity. Because these questions are valid and often reliable over time, the responses may give additional information about how a program might have a myriad of objective as well as subjective benefits or outcomes.

The activities that people often enjoy the most are those they look forward to and remember fondly. The recreation experience is more than just the activity. It's the marketing, preparation and recollection of activities that provides ongoing enjoyment beyond the event. Thus, recreation providers should take care to facilitate all of these aspects of recreational activities.

Autonomy and perceived freedom are necessary to intrinsic satisfaction. Pressuring a person to win can remove the fun from competition.

Positive adult interaction enhances the intrinsic satisfaction of children engaged in activities if the interface doesn't detract from a sense of autonomy (independence) and a child feels competent in the activity. Therefore, giving children positive support, challenges and good skill instruction will likely enhance children's enjoyment if they remain independent actors and perceive control of the situation and their accomplishments.

One prerequisite for enjoyment, or flow, is that the challenges are commensurate with the abilities of the participants. Therefore, to increase the fun of an activity, appropriate instruction as well as a variety of challenges may be necessary. Activities that facilitate expressions of competence and that challenge participants are often the most intrinsically satisfying.

All recreation activity leaders are also leisure educators. Facilitating clients' reflections on how making time to pursue intrinsically satisfying activities can increase their life satisfaction.

References

Ackrill, J. L. (1997). Essays on Plato and Aristotle. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.

Argyle, M., & Martin, M. (1991). The psychological causes of happiness. In F. Strack, M. Argyle, & N. Schwartz. (Eds). Subjective well-being: An interdisciplinary perspective (p 77-100). Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Argyle, M. (1987). The psychology of happiness. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd.

Csikzentimihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety: The experience of play. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Csikzentimihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row.

Csikszentimihalyi, M. (1997). Happiness and creativity: Going with the flow. The Futurist, 31(5), 8-13.

Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The `what' and `why' of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4),

Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34-44.

Foran, D. (1998). The pursuit of happiness. Vital Speeches, 64(18), 573-577).

Henderson, K.A., & Ainsworth, B.E. (in press, 2002). Enjoyment: A link to physical activity, leisure, and health. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration.

Henderson, K.A., Glancy, M., & Little, S. (1999). Putting the fun into physical activity. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 70(8), 43-45,49.

Henderson, K.A., Bialeschki, M.D., Hemingway, J.L., Hodges, J.S., Kivel, B.D., & Sessoms, H.D. (2001). Introduction to recreation and leisure services (8th edition). State College, PA: Venture Publishing, Inc.

Holt, N.L., Garcia, E., & Strean, W.B. (2001). Play, games, and fun in physical activity: Perceptions of instructors. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 72, 66.

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Kurtz, P. Where is the good life? Free Inquiry, 18(3), 23-24.

Meyers, A.R. (2000). From function to felicitude: Physical disability ad the search for happiness in health services research. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 105(5), 342-351.

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Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.

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Strack, F., Argyle, M., & Schwartz, N. (Eds). (1991). Subjective well-being: An interdisciplinary perspective. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Veenhoven, R. (1991). Questions on happiness: Classical topics, modern answers, blind spots. In F. Strack, M. Argyle, & N. Schwartz. (Eds). Subjective well-being: An interdisciplinary perspective (p 7-26).. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Walker, G. J., Deng, J., and Dieser, R. (2002). Culture, self-construal, and intrinsic motivation: Implications for leisure services. Tampa, FL: 2002 Leisure Research Symposium.

Cheryl Estes, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at East Carolina University. Her current research interests include youth program outcomes, curriculum development, service learning and how philosophical thinking is used in recreational practice. Karla Henderson, Ph.D., is professor and chair in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Her current research interests have related to the meanings of enjoyment, physical activity, social capital and social inclusion.