During the time, leisure and recreation have been always an important part of man’s life and occurred in many different forms. In the ancient Greece, people used to entertain themselves by participating outdoor games, which contributed into both physical and mental development. In the middle of ninetieth (19th) century people used to spend more time together socializing and learn about and from each other. Nowadays, at the beginning of twenty-first (21st) century, where everybody is trying to achieve the most possibly, free time has become a scarce phenomenon. During this assignment, the following study was contacted in order to collect information on how people spend their free time, in particular their leisure time, and what particular factors influence their behavior. Four (4) persons, representing three different ethnic groups and both genders, were interviewed and asked about decision making in terms of their leisure time. After the interviews took place, the data was compared and classified into categories. At this point, it is important to be mentioned that the names of the interview subjects were changed in order to protect their identity. The first person I interviewed was named Steven, a Caucasian male at the age of thirty-two (32). He is a college graduate and is currently working as a Human Resources analyst in South San Francisco. He has been to the Bay area almost for ten (10) years and even though he owns his own house, he shares it with one roommate. He was more than happy to participate at this interview and answer all the questions. According to him (personal communication, September 12, 1999) leisure is something relaxing, which does not require a lot of thought and energy. The “Leisure in Three Parts” definition of leisure is applying to Steven’s own definition of leisure (Bammel & Bammel, 1996). According to the definition, leisure has three parts: relaxation, entertainment and persona...
