Measuring the perception of leisure from a social cognitive perspective

The purpose of this study was to explore a conceptual framework for an individual's subjective perception of leisure based on social cognitive perspectives. A survey was administered to a sample of Eastern Illinois University students. A total of 443 students at Eastern Illinois University responded to the survey. A linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between social cognitive variables and subjective perception of leisure. The results of this study support a direct relationship between internal social cognitive variables (e.g., intrinsic satisfaction, emotions, and self-efficacy) and subjective perceptions of leisure. This study also found a positive relationship between external social cognitive variable (e.g., leisure knowledge) and subjective perception of leisure. These results provide an important contribution in the sense that social cognitive variable may have various causal effects on the individual's subjective perception of leisure. Future research is necessary to understand the linkages between social cognitive variables and subjective perceptions of leisure from qualitative and longitudinal approaches.