John Neulinger

{{Infobox scientist

| name = John Neulinger

| image = John Neulinger c. 1989.png

| image_size = 150px

| alt =

| caption = John Neulinger circa 1989

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1924|04|26|df=y}}

| birth_place = Dresden, Germany

| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|06|20|1924|04|26|df=y}}

| death_place = Dolgeville, New York, USA

| nationality = German-American

| fields = Social psychology
Leisure studies

| workplaces = City College of New York
Society for the Reduction of Human Labor

| alma_mater = Hunter College
New York University

| known_for = Leisure model, leisure lack, universal leisure society

}}

John Neulinger (April 26, 1924 - June 20, 1991) was a German-American psychologist and Professor Emeritus of psychology at City College of New York. Neulinger is best known for contributing a social psychological theory of leisure to the field of leisure studies.{{cite journal

| last = Parker

| first = Stan

| title = Appreciation: John Neulinger, 1925–91

| journal = Leisure Studies

| volume = 11

| issue = 1

| pages = 93

| publisher = Routledge

| date = Jan 1991

| doi = 10.1080/02614369100390341

| issn = 0261-4367

}} Neulinger's theory of leisure is defined by a psychological state of mind that requires two criteria for leisure: perceived freedom and intrinsic motivation. In Neulinger's theory, individuals can be said to be in a state of leisure if they simply perceive that they have the freedom to choose activities and are motivated by an activity for its own sake, not just for its consequences. Neulinger first popularized his ideas in the 1974 book, The Psychology of Leisure.

Early life

Neulinger was born in Dresden, Germany to Rudolf and Julie Neulinger née Konirsch. At least two siblings are known, a brother Kurt and a sister, Liselotte. Neulinger attended the Staatsoberrealgymnasium in Děčín, Czechoslovakia as a child,{{cite conference

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

| editor = Howard R. Gray |editor2=Larry L. Neal |editor3=S. Harold Smith

| title = A Leisure Society: Idle Dream or Viable Alternative, Encroaching Menace or Golden Opportunity (1989-04-22)

| book-title = J. B. Nash Lecture Series

| pages = 161–173

| publisher = American Association for Leisure and Recreation

| date = Oct 1990

| location = Boston

| url = http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail?accno=ED324312

}} but was taken to a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. His experience in Nazi Germany influenced his psychological theories regarding the connection between freedom and leisure in the same way as psychologist Viktor Frankl.

Having survived the war, Neulinger became a naturalized citizen in the United States. Neulinger attended Hunter College and graduated in 1960. He received his doctorate in psychology from New York University in 1965. Neulinger married Josephine Levitus on July 22, 1950, and later had one son, Ronald. In 1970 the couple divorced. He later married fellow psychologist Gabrielle Stutman.{{cite web

| title = John Neulinger 1924-1991

| work = Contemporary Authors Online

| publisher = Thomson Gale

| year = 2003

| url = http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

}}

Career

From 1964 to 1965, Neulinger was a research associate for the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City. After 1967, he spent the rest of his life working at the City College of the City University of New York: as an assistant professor from 1967 to 1971; an associate professor from 1972 to 1976; and finally as a professor of psychology from 1977 to 1986.

In the late 1960s, Neulinger and Miranda Breit were one of the first leisure researchers to use attitudinal data instead of participation data to define activity clusters. They published their attitudinal analysis as "Attitude Dimensions of Leisure" in the Journal of Leisure Research.Smith, S. L. (1990). [https://www.questia.com/read/25985924/dictionary-of-concepts-in-recreation-and-leisure-studies Dictionary of Concepts in Recreation and Leisure Studies]. New York: Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|0313252629}}. {{subscription required}}{{rp|9}}

Neulinger was a member of the International Sociological Association, the American Psychological Association, the Gerontological Society, and Phi Beta Kappa. He helped found the Academy of Leisure Sciences and was president of the academy from 1982 to 1983.Sourced to Contemporary Authors Online. For the official record, see:{{cite web

|title = Members of the Academy of Leisure Sciences

|publisher = Academy of Leisure Sciences

|url = http://academyofleisuresciences.com/alsmembs.htm

|access-date = 2009-03-10

|url-status = usurped

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110811024155/http://academyofleisuresciences.com/alsmembs.htm

|archive-date = 2011-08-11

}} Neulinger was Director of the Leisure Institute in his home town of Dolgeville, New York, and helped found and chaired the Society for the Reduction of Human Labor.

Leisure theory

{{quote box|width=30%|quote="Leisure is a state of mind; it is a way of being, of being at peace with oneself and what one is doing...Leisure has one and only one essential criterion, and that is the condition of perceived freedom. Any activity carried out freely without constraint or compulsion, may be considered to be leisure. To leisure implies being engaged in an activity as a free agent, and of one's own choice."|source=John Neulinger, in The Psychology of Leisure (1974)

{{cite book

| last = Torkildsen

| first = George

| title = Leisure and Recreation Management

| url = https://archive.org/details/torkildsenssport00geor

| url-access = limited

| chapter = Leisure and Recreation: A Variety of Meanings

| publisher = Routledge

| year = 2005

| pages = [https://archive.org/details/torkildsenssport00geor/page/n64 49]

| isbn = 0-415-30995-6 }}}}

Neulinger's leisure theory, sometimes referred to as the Neulinger paradigm, was first published in his 1974 book, The Psychology of Leisure. The theory is a continuum model of leisure, with the criterion a condition Neulinger calls perceived freedom. This perceived freedom is a state of mind where one freely chooses to perform an activity—any activity—because one "wants to do it".{{cite encyclopedia

| title = Social Psychological Theories of Leisure

| encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America

| pages = 521–522

| publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons

| year = 2004

| isbn = 0-684-31265-4

}} If an individual is involved in an activity that offers only intrinsic reward and perceived freedom, that person is said to be at leisure. However, if the activity involves only extrinsic reward and the absence of perceived freedom, leisure is not present. Neulinger described six states: Pure leisure, leisure-work, leisure-job, pure work, work-job, and pure job.{{cite book

| last = Leitner

| first = Michael J.

| title = Leisure Enhancement

| chapter = Concepts of Leisure

| publisher = Haworth Press

| year = 2004

| pages = 2–20

| isbn = 0-7890-1534-X

}} See also: {{cite web

| last = Ross

| first = Craig M

| title = HPER R160: Foundation of Recreation and Leisure

| work = Questions From the Past Week: Explain Neulinger's Paradigm

| publisher = Indiana University Dept of Recreation & Park Administration

| url = http://www.indiana.edu/~r160/questions.htm#work

| access-date = 2009-03-10

}}

Neulinger's theory of leisure argued that intrinsic motivation and perceived freedom can directly change the perception of leisure.{{cite journal

| last = Holt

| first = Marieke

|author2=Candace Ashton-Shaeffer

| title = Therapeutic Recreation's Role in Meeting the Needs of Heart Transplant Patients

| journal = Parks and Recreation

| volume = 36

| issue = 5

| pages = 58–64

| publisher = National Recreation and Park Association

| date = May 2001

}} But, like other social psychological theories of leisure, Neulinger's theory was criticized for its lack of "discriminant power". The criterion of perceived freedom is not exclusive to leisure activities, and the failure of the theory to account for the differences between real freedom and the illusion of freedom was challenged. Nevertheless, Neulinger's theory exerted considerable influence on the social theory of leisure, and perceived freedom is still a popular concept in leisure studies.

Neulinger believed that human civilization could one day look forward to a society based on leisure, a leisure society where technology and science free the average person from concern over subsistence. Neulinger envisioned a world where the very concept of a "job" was no longer plausible, where work would be leisure-oriented. Neulinger's vision was of a society where non-leisure activities form a minimal part of our day, where work would be carried out with meaning and without coercion, freely chosen, self-rewarding, and intrinsically motivating.{{cite web

|title = Memoriam

|publisher = Academy of Leisure Sciences

|url = http://www.academyofleisuresciences.com/memory.htm

|access-date = 2009-03-10

|quote = In his final years, he came to believe that society wasn't rapidly moving toward a post-industrial phase in which technology would provide the means to minimize human labor and that human beliefs and values needed to be developed that would embrace such a change.

|url-status = usurped

|archive-url = https://archive.today/20110903044034/http://www.academyofleisuresciences.com/memory.htm

|archive-date = 2011-09-03

}} In his final publication, Neulinger advocated for a societal transformation to that of a "universal leisure society instead of more centuries of useless destruction and worldwide conflicts".

Death

Neulinger died at home of a heart attack at the age of 67 on June 20, 1991, in Dolgeville, New York.{{cite news

| title = John Neulinger, 67, Psychology Professor

| work = Obituaries

| pages = 21

| publisher = The New York Times

| date = 1991-06-22

| url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7DA113CF931A15755C0A967958260&sec=&spon=

| access-date = 2009-03-05

}} Since his death, colleagues in the field of leisure studies have referred to Neulinger as a "leisure visionary".{{cite journal

| last = Spigner

| first = C.

| author2 = Havitz, M. E

| title = Social marketing or social justice: A dialogue on access to recreation for the unemployed

| journal = Parks and Recreation

| volume = 28

| issue = 11

| pages = 51–57

| publisher = National Recreation and Park Association

| date = 1993-11-01

| url = http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Social+marketing+or+social+justice%3a+a+dialogue+on+access+to...-a014517888

}}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Publications

=Books=

{{cite book

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

| title = The Psychology of Leisure

| publisher = Charles C. Thomas

| orig-year = 1974

| year = 1981

| location = Springfield, Illinois

| isbn = 0-398-03106-1

| url-access = registration

| url = https://archive.org/details/psychologyofleis0000neul}}

{{cite book

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

| orig-year = 1977

| title = What Am I Doing? The WAID

| publisher = Leisure Institute

| year = 1986

| location = Dolgeville, New York}}

{{cite book

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

| title = To Leisure: An Introduction

| publisher = Allyn and Bacon

| year = 1981

| location = Boston

| isbn = 0-205-06936-3

| url-access = registration

| url = https://archive.org/details/toleisureintrodu0000neul}}

{{cite book

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

| title = Road to Eden After All: A Human Metamorphosis

| publisher = Leisure Institute

| year = 1990

| isbn = 90-5013-014-3}}

=Articles=

{{cite journal

| last = Brim

| first = Orville G. |author2=John Neulinger |author3=D. C. Glass

| title = Experiences and Attitudes of American Adults concerning Standardized Intelligence Tests

| journal = Technical Report No. 1 on the Social Consequences of Testing

| publisher = Russell Sage Foundation

| location = New York

| year = 1965

| url = http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/detail?accno=ED018209}}

{{cite journal

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

|author2=Miranda Breit

| title = Attitude Dimensions of Leisure

| journal = Journal of Leisure Research

| volume = 1

| issue = 3

| pages = 255–261

| date = Summer 1969

| doi = 10.1080/00222216.1969.11969737}}

{{cite journal

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

| author2=Miranda Breit

| title = Attitude Dimensions of Leisure: A Replication Study

| journal = Journal of Leisure Research

| volume = 3

| issue = 2

| pages = 108–115

| date = Spring 1971

| doi = 10.1080/00222216.1971.11970019}}

{{cite journal

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

| title = Leisure and Mental Health: A Study in a Program of Leisure Research

| journal = The Pacific Sociological Review

| volume = 14

| issue = 3

| pages = 288–300

| publisher = University of California Press

| date = Jul 1971

| doi = 10.2307/1388643

| jstor = 1388643

| s2cid = 149489413}}{{Subscription required}}

{{cite journal

| last1 = Glass

| first1 = David C.

| author2 = John Neulinger

| author3 = Orville G. Brim, Jr.

| title = Birth Order, Verbal Intelligence, and Educational Aspiration

| journal = Child Development

| volume = 45

| issue =3

| pages = 807–811

| publisher =Blackwell Publishing

| year = 1974

| doi = 10.2307/1127851

| pmid = 4143834

| jstor = 1127851}}{{Subscription required}}

{{cite book

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

| editor = Hillel Ruskin

| title = Leisure, Toward a Theory and Policy: Proceedings of the International Seminar on Leisure Policies, Jerusalem, 11–14 June 1979

| chapter = Leisure: A State of Mind That All Desire but Few Achieve

| publisher = Fairleigh Dickinson University Press

| year = 1979

| pages = 172–181

| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CvUH1idJ3X4C&pg=PA172

| isbn = 0-8386-3134-7}}

{{cite journal

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

|author2=Steven Kopor

| title = Leisure Experienced by an Intellectual Elite: A Survey of the Mensa Society

| journal = Mensa Research Journal

| volume = 10

| issue = 17

| pages = 25–33

| publisher = Mensa Education and Research Foundation

| date = Spring–Summer 1981}}

{{cite journal

| last = Neulinger

| first = John

| title = Leisure Lack and the Quality of Life: The Broadening Scope of the Leisure Professional

| journal = Leisure Studies

| volume = 1

| issue = 1

| pages = 53–63

| publisher = Routledge

| date = Jan 1982

| doi = 10.1080/02614368200390051}}

John Neulinger

Early life

Career

Leisure theory

Death

Publications

=Books=

=Articles=

See also

References

Further reading