Maslow’s theory was criticized by those who identified that people’s needs could come at different stages other than in the order that he progressed them.
Nevertheless, Maslow’s theories were used as the basis for work produced by Tillman. Tillman examined the needs and identified ten ‘leisure needs’, needs that can be satisfied through leisure opportunity. The ten leisure needs were as follows:
- New experiences like adventure
- Relaxation, escape and fantasy
- Recognition and identity
- Security – being free from thirst, hunger or pain
- Dominance – to direct others or control one’s environment
- Response and social interaction, to relate and react to others
- Mental activity – to perceive and understand
- Creativity
- Service to others – the need to be needed
- Physical activity and fitness
(Torkildsen. G, 1992:80)
The first need, ‘new experiences’, can be described as a need for discovery, a need for breaching into the unknown. The danger element provides ‘extremists’ with a ‘buzz’.
"Sure they're gonna lose some bark, bend handlebars and snap mudguards, but every time riders progress to a new trick they get a huge buzz."
Andrew Clubb, article from Dirt Action Magazine
Participants in extreme sports face this challenge each time they participate, as the picture shows, extreme skiers or snowboarders often venture into fresh or more dangerous snow or attempt a more difficult run or trick when one is discovered.
The next need on Tillman’s list is the need for relaxation, escape and fantasy. Participants in snow sports as well as participating for thrills and buzzes sometimes prefer to take in the serene settings of their chosen environment, for example the mountain skylines. These can set a scene of fantasy that is far away from what is more than often the sedentary lifestyle that they lead.
The recognition and identity needs are fulfilled when people are able to find an alternative identity for themselves other than the generalised identity that exists today. Participants can in a way re-create themselves, from for example, being an officer worker into an extreme sports person in a matter of hours. Participants who reach a certain level and become a ‘master’ at their activity can also achieve recognition.
" (About today’s generation of young inline skaters) I love the kids. They're awesome. Just to see them come up and do tricks I've invented."
Cesar Mora (Australian Pro Skater), article from 817 Magazine.
This quote is an example of how participants can achieve recognition that provides an intrinsic value to them.
The security needs can be conquered by the participants in terms of that they can feel unbound of previous limitations that they face in typical society. They attain a sense of freedom from these previous limitations.
"(on kite boarding) You feel so light, like you're free."
Tim Lewis, article from Boarder Magazine
Extreme participants overcome the need for dominance and the ability to control the environment as they can ‘dominate’ harsh terrain and landscapes using skis, boards and bikes, overcoming physical barriers that other participants would steer clear of, which allows them to surpass this need.
"Some like the tricks, high jumps and speed, but I love being out on the water and being able to do so much with the wind and the waves than they can do with me,"
Tim Lewis, article from Boarder Magazine
They can harness the power of the environment to their own advantage to perform their chosen activity.
Socially, extreme and adventure sports tend to form large but close knit social groups. Societies, groups and clubs form from participants who meet in the circles around the events and as soon as someone has entered a group they can find themselves mixing with many people with both similar and different interests. The need for sociality is easily quenched.
The need to perceive and to understand or mental ability is an easily attainable aim in the world of extreme sports. Participants can begin to understand the environment that surrounds them, for example skiers and snowboarders can read runs, surfers and wake boarders can predict when to use different techniques, and freestyle BMX riders can judge what tricks to perform in mid-air. They achieve the ability to mentally overcome their environment.
Creativity is a central element in understanding what motivates people into participating in leisure activities. In terms of extreme sports participants, the very nature of their activity is creativity, which is key to performing most of the activities successfully. The creativity can be linked to the need for identity, where the performer of the activity is allowed to recreate themselves to some extent into a new identity.
The need for physical fitness, although being a ‘leisure’ need, can be linked into being a life maintenance need. Without the support of other aids, such as medicines, the human body needs to be physically fit to sustain life, and leisure is a way of achieving and maintaining physical fitness. Extreme sports are generally very fast and a certain degree of health and fitness is required.
Tillman and Maslow’s concepts focused what can be seen as a primordial instinct towards attaining self-fulfilment. There are however, other reasons affecting participation in leisure activities. Such factors as age, gender, social class (including income and time) and provision can all play a part in determining the level of participation in leisure and the types of leisure activity that is made available.
Generally, people of a higher age group participate a lot less than people in lower age groups. Either through illness, old age or the lack of esteem that can be evident due to stereotypes such as “you’re too old to do that”, older people tend to put off participation in leisure time activities. There is also a difference in the leisure activities that people participate in. Older age groups may favour gardening and relaxation holidays instead of activities that feature a lot of action such as snowboarding and skiing, which are usually participated in by the younger generation.
Gender stereotypes also affect leisure as well. Haywood (1995) states that there are socially prescribed patterns of behaviour attached to sex. Leisure time is one of the places that a stereotypical divide is evident, where the view of masculinity and femininity can block genders from participating in leisure activities that their specific gender would not normally participate in. For example women are distracted from participating in ‘masculine’ activities such as extreme and action sports, as society views them as being concerned with fashion, home making, motherhood and romance. When they do appear in sports and recreation, the only suitable activities are aesthetic activities that do not contradict feminine imagery. (Hargreaves, in Haywood 1995: 132)
The differences in social class can heavily affect participation in leisure. People of a higher social standing will more than likely have more time and money to spend on leisure time, so a difference once again becomes evident. People in a lower class might not be able to afford the time or money to participate in activities, for example skiing requires specialist equipment and certain environments in which to perform the activity, so it is unattainable for most people.
Provision of space, equipment and other materials needed to participate in leisure also has a role in determining participation levels. Local governments and other organisations provide the funding and expertise to set up leisure facilities and pay instructors and work people, so dependent on the amount of provision available, the levels of participation varies in different areas. Sometimes local authority or governing bodies cannot afford to provide in certain areas, for example most would not be able to provide the space and money to build an artificial ski slope or a skate park.
To conclude this essay it can be said that fulfilling one’s needs are a main motivating point when it comes to participating in leisure. Leisure can be an excellent provider when it comes to increasing physical fitness, and can be excellent as a catharsis from the everyday world. However it is also evident that there are many negative issues concerned that can affect participation levels, such as provision and stereotyping. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Tillman’s leisure needs are key to understanding what motivates people into participation in leisure activities.
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