The relationship between extroversion and leisure motivation: Evidence from fitness center participation
Main Article Content
In this study the relationship between extroversion and leisure motivation in Taiwanese fitness center members was examined. A systematic sampling (one out of ten entering the fitness center) produced 424 usable questionnaires for the final data analysis. The findings reveal that extroversion is positively correlated with the four leisure motivation dimensions: Intellectual, Social, Competence-mastery and Stimulus-avoidance. We therefore conclude that extroverts will be highly motivated to attend fitness centers.
Personality traits are characteristics that are stable over time and which determines people’s behavior. Personality traits reflect who we are, and in aggregate, determine our affective, behavioral, and cognitive styles (Mount, Barrick, Scullen, & Rounds, 2005). Although various researchers have used different numbers of traits to describe personality (e.g., McCrae & John, 1992; Metsäpelto & Pulkkinen, 2003), the five-factor model (FFM) is a general model for understanding the content of normal personality (Goldberg, 1993; McCrae & Costa, 1997). Extroversion (or introversion), one of the FFM factors, represents the degree to which a person is outgoing or shy (warm, gregarious, assertive, active) (McCrae & John, 1992). Researchers have always found extroversion to be strongly related to participation in sports and the desire for competition within sports and games (Furnham, 1990; Kircaldy & Furnham, 1991). This study compares extroversion to participation at fitness centers, an emerging service industry in Taiwan.
Leisure Motivation
There is a lot of research connecting intrinsic motivational orientation with leisure activities (Chang & Hsieh, 2006; Iso-Ahola, 1979; Iwasaki & Mannell, 1999). Intrinsic motivational processes identify individuals who are more oriented to being involved in and experiencing leisure as intrinsically rewarding (Weissinger & Bandalos, 1995; Weissinger & Iso-Ahola, 1984). Such people have a strong desire for self-determination, feel competent in most areas of their life, and become deeply involved in and enjoy challenges in their leisure pursuits. The concept of leisure motivation has been widely used in sports, recreation psychology, and behavioral research (Crandall, 1980; Iso-Ahola & Allen, 1982).
The sports and recreation industry is an emerging service industry in Taiwan. Little research has been conducted with this industry, and there is also a lack of research into the relationship between extroversion and leisure motivation. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the extroversion personality trait and leisure motives for attending a fitness center.
Method
Sample
The sample consists of individual respondents who are members of fitness centers in a metropolitan area (Taipei) in Taiwan. Systematic sampling was used (one out of ten entering the fitness center), producing 424 usable questionnaires for the final data analysis.
Scale Development
Participants completed the Leisure Motivation Scale designed by Ragheb and Beard (1983). Respondents indicated the extent to which each of the 14 items comprising the scale was a reason for them to attend a fitness club. These reasons include intellectual (e.g., increase my knowledge, discover a new place and things, and use my imagination), social (e.g., be with others, have a good time with friends, build friendships, develop close friendships, and gain a feeling of belonging), competence-mastery (e.g., use my physical abilities, challenge my abilities, and avoid the hustle and bustle of life), and stimulus-avoidance (e.g., relax mentally, be in a calm atmosphere, relax physically) components, as found in recent research (Ryan, 2002). Because of its validity and wide use (Furnham, Moutafi, & Crump, 2003), Five Factor Model (FFM) extroversion introduced by McCrae and John (1992) was used to assess the personality of fitness center members in this study. The extroversion measurement scales, comprising 8 items, are cited from Saucier’s (1994) Mini-Markers. A 7-point Likert-type scale was used, with response options ranging from strongly disagree (= 1) to strongly agree (= 7).
Data Analysis
The association between extroversion levels and leisure motivation was tested with Pearson correlation coefficients (r).
Results
Reliability and Validity Assessment
Scale reliabilities measured by Cronbach α values and corrected item-total correlations were examined. The threshold of Cronbach α was set at 0.7. After omitting two items due to the item-total correlation result, the Cronbach α values of Extroversion, Intellectual, Social, Competence-mastery and Stimulus-avoidance motives were 0.836, 0.837, 0.824, 0.842, and 0.826, respectively. All final α values surpassed the threshold. Therefore, internal consistency and homogeneity of the scales are both very good.
In addition, convergent and discriminant validity were examined through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), where the extracted latent factors can be seen as a set of common underlying dimensions of the research construct. Four leisure motive factors loaded on the dominant factor (at least 0.5) with a sum of the items in the factor explaining more that 50 percent of the factor’s variance. Table 1 shows the results.
The Correlation Between Extroversion and Leisure Motivation
Pearson correlation coefficients (Pearson’s r) were used to investigate the association between the level of extroversion and leisure motivation. The correlations were all statistically significant (see Table 2). The composite extroversion index and the composite leisure motivational index were positively correlated, indicating that extroversion was related to overall leisure motivation.
Table 1. Exploratory Factor Analysis Results
Table 2. Correlation Analysis Between Extroversion and Leisure Motivation
Note: N = 424; * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001
Conclusion
Previous studies have paid much attention to personality traits and leisure motivation. This study further establishes the relationship between these two constructs in the emerging service industries in Taiwan. Overall, the findings reveal that members of fitness centers are highly extroverted and highly leisure motivated. In addition, extroversion is positively correlated with leisure motivation, and therefore fitness center managers can promote intellectual, social, competence-mastery and relaxing factors to attract extroverted clients. The findings in this study of customers’ behavior in the sports and recreation industry, one of the emerging service industries in Taiwan, are in line with previous studies; managers in this new industry can learn from the industry’s success in other countries.
Future researchers could try to examine the influence of other personality traits, such as neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness on leisure motivation. Moreover, issues such as leisure satisfaction and a sense of well-being might be affected by leisure motivation, which is worthy of future study. In addition, because the empirical evidence is from Taipei, Taiwan, the generalization of the findings is limited. Therefore, future research can validate the research findings within other environmental settings, such as in other cities and country areas, or by investigating other leisure activities.
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Table 1. Exploratory Factor Analysis Results
Table 2. Correlation Analysis Between Extroversion and Leisure Motivation
Note: N = 424; * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001
Appreciation is due to reviewers including
Cecilie Thogersen-Ntoumani
PhD
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham B15 2TT
United Kingdom