Dimensions of Leisure: II: Descriptions

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Abstract
Samples of 97 and 259 participants were asked to rate the aptness of possible descriptions with regard to their favorite free-time activity and their work. Ratings were cluster analyzed and the results of the samples compared. Four dimensions replicated strongly—Destructiveness, Cerebration, Fulfillment, and Flamboyance. Three additional dimensions were replicated substantially but with minor shifts in meaning—Solitude, Humor, and Instinctiveness. The strongest dimension in the second analysis, Affection, was composed mainly of adjectives not included in the first analysis; it appears to be real but cannot be said to be replicated. Simple sum cluster scores computed separately for leisure and work descriptions indicate that only one dimension is related to age: leisure Destructiveness decreases with age. There are significant differences among selected leisure activities and among selected occupations. Dimensionality of the descriptive space is not yet firmly established, but the major outlines are clear. The dimensions promise to be useful in the development and testing of theories of leisure, and especially in helping to group leisure activities into functionally similar clusters.

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