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Flow Theory and Leisure

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The Palgrave Handbook of Leisure Theory

Abstract

Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory has done more than most to illuminate the study of the leisure experience, providing valuable insights into how the activities of everyday life come to be invested with meaning and experienced as enjoyable. A substantial bank of empirical evidence exists suggesting that flow is certainly something real for people in their leisure. This chapter seeks to draw to the fore the relevance and implications of recent theoretical extensions of flow theory in leisure and their capacity to reflect, and in some cases enrich, human experience in the context of peoples’ everyday lives.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Higher Education Academy, York Science Park, Innovation Way, Heslington, York, YO10 5BR, UK

    Samuel D. Elkington

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  1. Samuel D. Elkington
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Carnegie Faculty, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Karl Spracklen

  2. Carnegie Faculty, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Brett Lashua

  3. Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada

    Erin Sharpe

  4. Health and Life Sciences, York St John’s University, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Spencer Swain

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© 2017 The Author(s)

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Elkington, S.D. (2017). Flow Theory and Leisure. In: Spracklen, K., Lashua, B., Sharpe, E., Swain, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Leisure Theory. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56479-5_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56479-5_24

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-56478-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56479-5

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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