Monique Lee
Student ID: 110199493
Monique Lee
Student ID: 110199493
Leisure Concepts – Personal Critique Leisure Concepts – Personal Critique

Reflective Study (Personal Critique)
Week 11 – The Dark Side of Leisure
Gambling:

When defining the term leisure, it is able to be distinguished by the three components of; intrinsically motivating, enjoyment, and freedom of choice. Therefore, any activity that is able to demonstrate these three components must be seen as a leisure activity. However, in society some of the reflection of these activities that people are merely participating in are seen as been on the verge, in terms of being outside acceptable norms of behaviour and having a negative impact on the wellbeing of the individual if overused. These leisure activities are commonly derived as being seen as the ‘dark side of leisure’ or ‘leisure deviant’. Leisure can be a time for self-expression, even if it is outside the self-normality of society, however who can define it as being either a good or bad activity to participate in. If it’s giving the individual an overall sense of pleasure and positive experiences from participating, shouldn’t it be considered as an acceptable leisure activity to take part in? Based on the three components of leisure, I will evaluate whether gambling provides any overall benefits to the individual overall in relation to their wellbeing, specifically focusing on the question, ‘Does gambling have any beneficial leisure qualities?’

Wolfgang (1988, p.72), suggests that gambling is an influenced choice of leisure due to it arising from a personality trait of ‘Sensation seeking; the level of arousal an individual prefers’, in which positive reinforcement is gained. Gambling is able to provide a sense of pleasure induction and self-esteem enhancement, in relation to the eyes of the individual, as their early and random wins will help motivate them to continue their behaviour, due to their confidence and self- esteem increasing, even as losses mount and their behaviour becomes destructive, linking to the statement made by (Cotte 1997, p. 384).
This consequently links to the three components of leisure being instinctually motivating and giving the individual a sense of enjoyment, as the gain of money or tokens from the win will give the individual a sense of pleasure and satisfaction, due to the ‘sense of arousal being fulfilled as they enter a mood that reaches a peak or high’ (Cotte 1997, p. 384).This reflects upon the personality trait of ‘sensation seeking’, and as such will contribute to being the driving motive for the individual to continue to participate in this particular chosen activity. However, if gambling is seen as being an enjoyable activity and given the individual a sense of confidence, how is it seen as being an activity outside of ‘social normality’ if it meets all 3 components of leisure?’ Shouldn’t it be seen as a leisure activity that benefits the overall wellbeing of the individual? Therefore, (Martinenz 1989, p. 125) ‘Reflection of gambling being an activity that engenders conscious moods…. Make possible a favourable, fantasized self-image’ is able to demonstrate this also, further influencing my decision on whether gambling is an acceptable form of leisure, in terms of the overall benefits it provides. On note, some people believe that as a result of this sensation seeking trait that individuals are immersed in when participating in gambling, it can have adverse effects on the individual getting addicted or having an obsessive passion for participating in the chosen desired leisure activity. This obsessive passion and addiction to gambling is becoming a further concern in today’s generation, due to the constant availability of gambling being online via internet, due to the technological advancements that have arisen over the last ten years. As indicated by a large number of studies conducted, it is able to be further emphasised that highly valued activity involvements might be detrimental to the wellbeing of the individual (Stenseng, Rise & Kraft 2011, p. 49).
However, in contrast to these large studies being outsourced, being addicted to gambling does not rule ‘out the possibility that one momentarily appreciates, likes and feels stimulated by the activity’ (Stenseng, Rise & Kraft 2011, p. 51).However in saying that, it may be more appropriate to state that the liking of an activity which one feels addicted to, ‘may fluctuate to greater extent than activities that feels in one control’ (Stenseng, Rise & Kraft 2011, p. 51), over-ruling one of the theories of ‘sensation seeking’, in which has been associated with positive enhancement, in relation to the individual’s overall sense of satisfaction and enjoyment. This lack of control immersed by the individual will as a consequence, result in negative actions or behaviours to initiate due to the mechanisms of self-awareness decreasing and being vastly limited. This is a ‘typical aspect of addictive behaviours such as pathological gambling’ (Stenseng, Rise & Kraft 2011, p. 51).
Studies have demonstrated that obsessive passion was associated with intentions of escaping self-awareness when engaging in one’s leisure activity, resulting in negative consequences to arise. Gambling being seen as an activity which is ‘instinctually motivating’ for the individual due to them feeling a sense of arousal and sensationally seeked has been demeaned and revalidated in terms of its accomplishments, as it ‘has been linked to personality variables such as neuroticism, trait emotion and low levels of self-control’ (Stenseng, Rise & Kraft 2011, p. 55). As a result of this study conducted it has helped justify my decision that gambling can have negative effects on the individual, if not perceived in the right frame of mind. This strongly reflects upon (Stenseng, Rise & Kraft 2011, p. 49) statement of an ‘obsessive passion’ for a particular leisure activity being harmful to the individual’s wellbeing, further validating its justification of the issue. Further studies have shown that, ‘Gambling as leisure was seen as an opportunity to socialise with others ‘(Chua 2001, p. 30). It has the ability to signify an occasion for socialising, and as such present opportunities in the process of interaction to signify oneself, allowing the individual to grow as a person independently. (Cottee 1997) supports this analogy in stating that, ‘Socialisation process is an imperative tenant for participation… it serves a remise for people to gather and establish or reaffirm their distinctiveness in society’ (Chua 2001, p. 264). As such, through this state of mind, that the individual perceives through the process of interacting it helps assist them in personal fulfilment, identify and form of self- expression, reflecting upon the component of ‘freedom of choice’. However, often a suggestion to why individuals are participating in this activity is commonly derived from components of peer pressure. This judgement is reflected upon by (Chua 2001, p.264) argument, ‘It is affirmed that the consumption or socialisation within this content of gambling, has the ability to alter people’s perception’, and as such influence the individual’s decisions and judgements. It is then able to be argued, that given the intense social pressure to keep up with distinctive lifestyles, ‘It will usher people into another world beyond their existing conventionality, where the lines of reel and real are blurred’ (Chua 2001, p. 265). Therefore, one of the major conditions affecting leisure attitudes towards a specific activity (i.e. gambling) is actually one’s friendship group, emphasising that the upbringing of today’s society is strongly concerned and insecure about how they are perceived in the world. This contradicts, the components of gambling being defined as a leisure activity, as the 3 components; instinctually motivating, freedom of choice and enjoyable, is not able to be able to be taken upon by the individual, as their need or desire for participating in the activity, is actually sentimental to what they stand for as a person, as they feel forced to take part in the desired activity. For my experiences personally, I know that when I feel pressured to participate in an activity with my friends (i.e. going out on a cold night) I definitely do not feel motivated or excited to participate in it, demeaning and limiting any positive benefits, such as the personality trait of ‘sensation seeking’ to arise from the situation itself.
For many people in particular, they use leisure dependent on its ability to provide an alternative to existing social structures in society. It allows them to have a break from the activities they are so immersed in within their every-day structure routines, further emphasised by (Chua 2011, p. 39), who suggests that, ‘leisure is an outlet for the individual to escape from these structures and engage in their preferred identities or behaviours’. As such by participating in gambling it allows the individual to self-express, as well as engage in contributing to identity enhancement. I can readily justify this statement for myself, as I need time and space away from my structured routines (i.e. uni commitments, part-time work, basketball, etc.) in order to feel in control of myself and help me feel re-charged and relaxed for the upcoming weeks ahead. While reflecting upon this topic, I feel that I am somewhat categorised into the ‘sensation seeking’ trait, as at times when I am under the pump or feeling stressed, I like to feel somewhat excited and highly aroused for a small point in time, in order to feel relaxed and come back down to earth with the activities and responsibilities that I have to accomplish. However, in saying that I would not want to participate in activities, which may be seen as being risk taking or dangerous to myself in order to get this highly aroused feeling.
This risk taking feeling is strongly associated with another driving attribute of gambling, in which is described as being a symbolic motive. According to (Bloch 1951), ‘gambling is a ‘safety-valve’ for people looking to take chances and risks, especially those unable to do so in their mundane lives and work’ (Cotte 1997, p. 382-383). Therefore, it is able to be seen that gambling is seen as a motive to voluntarily submit to risk and perform under pressure, as such allows people exercise some sense of control that the social system will not ordinarily permit (Cotte 1997, p. 383), inciting them to feel ‘sensationally seeked’. It is able to be seen that gambling does offer individuals with a sense of enjoyment from feeling highly aroused, due to their feeling of release and escape from their everyday structured activities, reflecting upon (Chua 2011, p. 39), and (Bloch 1951) statements. However, in saying that the motive for this drive to participate in gambling as a leisure activity, is not seen to be very responsible and ethical for the individual, even if it does meet the three components of leisure; instinctually motivating, freedom of choice and enjoyment. This is due to risk-taking not always providing the individual with positive benefits, as instead it could be detrimental to their overall wellbeing in the short and long-term, further validating (Stenseng, Rise & Kraft, 2011 p. 49) argument.
From these studies conducted, I believe that gambling as a leisure activity can provide some benefits to the individual, however it is predominantly dependent on who they are and how they respond to participating in such an activity.
Word Count: 1719

References: 1. Chua, S 2001, ‘The Sociology of Leisure: An Examination of the Relationship between Perceived Experience and Leisure Participation’, PhD thesis, School of Management Studies for the Service Sector, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.

2. Cotte, J 1997, ‘Chances, Trances, And Lots of Slots: Gambling Motives and Consumption Experiences’, Journal of Leisure Research, vol. 29, no.4, pp. 380-406

3. Martinez, T 1983, ‘The gambling scene: Why people gamble?’, Charles C Thomas Pub Limited, Springfield, IL.

4. Stenseng, F Rise, J Kraft, P 2011, ‘The dark side of leisure: obsessive passion and its covariates and outcomes’, Leisure Studies, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 49-62

5. Wolfgang, A 1988, ‘Gambling As a Function of Gender and Sensation Seeking’, Journal of Gambling Behaviour, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 71-77