ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the various ways in which people can experience leisure. There are many possible methods of classifying types of leisure, though most are less than comprehensive. The chapter looks at forms of leisure behaviour which represent either a conformist or ‘square’ attitude to existing institutions or a ‘deviant’ opposition to them, or both. Industrial society is based on the growth of specialised economic and social organisations, including leisure organisations. An approach to leisure behaviour which seeks to understand it in terms only of the overt activities engaged in is insufficient. The theme of identity-search leads logically to questions about the relationship of leisure choices to needs to conform with or to rebel against conventional social forms. Visiting public houses is a form of leisure activity, mostly square but with deviant overtones, which has often been underrated as an area of study.
