Mass violence planned as ultimate leisure experience? Four diverse cases

Abstract

Despite difficulties acknowledged by scholars in precisely defining leisure, it may be generally understood as reasonably autonomous, primarily intrinsically motivated activity engaged in during free time and experienced by individuals as enjoyable and personally meaningful [1]. Indeed, the scope of what may constitute potential leisure seems endless and may include active or passive engagement in art, music, literature, dance, sports and physical activities, entertainment, pop culture, and various other possibilities. As a distinct field of study, leisure science draws from multiple parent disciplines to try to understand social and behavioral contexts and processes associated with individuals' preferred activities and lifestyles. Both leisure science and forensic behavioral science, then, apply multidisciplinary scholarship in order to better understand important components and processes of human behavior, with forensic behavioral science, of course, specifically addressing behavioral factors relating to legal matters.One robust theoretical approach to understanding leisure of all varieties is the Serious Leisure Perspective (SLP) [1]. According to SLP, leisure activities may be classified along a continuum from casual (immediate, short-term pleasurable activity requiring little or no special training) to serious-the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobby, or volunteer activity that is sufficiently interesting and fulfilling to acquire and express a combination of skills, special knowledge, and experience [1]. Additionally, a third form of leisure is project-based, which is characterized as a short-term, reasonably complicated, one-time or infrequent creative undertaking carried out during free time and has some elements of both casual and serious leisure [1,2].