Consumption of Discretionary Time: an Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT - Time is a scarce resource. Apart from time spent on work, individuals can decide how to consume their discretionary time. The purpose of this study is to explore the antecedents that may affect time consumed in various categories of activities. Three sets of antecedents were examined, namely, cultural values, personality factors, and demographic variables. Five-hundred and twenty-seven respondents, including Chinese in Hong Kong, Americans in Texas and Michigan, and Canadians, participated in this study. The results suggest that these three sets of antecedents have significant unique explanative power on time consumed in eight categories of activities.

Citation:

Wai-Kwan Li and Kineta Hung (1997) ,"Consumption of Discretionary Time: an Exploratory Study", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 24, eds. Merrie Brucks and Deborah J. MacInnis, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 542-550.

Advances in Consumer Research Volume 24, 1997      Pages 542-550

CONSUMPTION OF DISCRETIONARY TIME: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Wai-Kwan Li, University of Texas-Pan American

Kineta Hung, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

ABSTRACT -

Time is a scarce resource. Apart from time spent on work, individuals can decide how to consume their discretionary time. The purpose of this study is to explore the antecedents that may affect time consumed in various categories of activities. Three sets of antecedents were examined, namely, cultural values, personality factors, and demographic variables. Five-hundred and twenty-seven respondents, including Chinese in Hong Kong, Americans in Texas and Michigan, and Canadians, participated in this study. The results suggest that these three sets of antecedents have significant unique explanative power on time consumed in eight categories of activities.

Time is a scarce resource. Each person is limited to 24 hours a day, though some people combine activities simultaneously to produce an output of more than 24 hours (Kaufman, Lane, and Lindquis 1991). However, even though time is the scarce resource (Leclerc, Schmitt, and DubT 1995), it has received little research attention until recently (see Jacoby, Szybillo, and Berning [1976], Gross [1987], Hirschman [1987] for reviews). As an individual’s daily discretionary time is essentially fixed, the choice to participate in one activity must necessarily affect the possibility for this person to engage in another. However, the factors that may affect the amount of time that an individual spends on various activities remain unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the factors that explain how people allocate their time among various non-work activities. Specifically, this study examined three sets of antecedents: demographic variables, psychological factors, and cultural values. To capture enough variances for these variables (especially in cultural values), a survey was conducted in four regions/countries, where the respondents may hold different cultural values.

Research On Time Used In Discretionary Activities

To examine time used in various discretionary activities systematically, Holbrook and Lehmann (1981) categorized 50 discretionary activities into seven sets of activities. They are audience, outdoor, games, family and social activities, hobbies, eating activities, and literary activities. Fifteen years have elapsed but a general theory for partitioning discretionary (and/or leisure) activities has not been developed. Moreover, the survey data used by Holbrook and Lehmann (1981) were collected in 1975. Since then, activities that were not popular 21 years ago are now popular among average consumers. These activities include video/computer games, virtual reality games, writing e-mail letters, and "surfing" the World Wide Web. Because of the scant literature in this area of research, it would be premature for us to develop specific hypotheses that postulate the relationships among demographic, psychological, and cultural factors, and the time consumers spend on each set of discretionary activities. Instead, we will employ an exploratory, discovery approach to examine the relationships between the antecedents of time usage and exemplars of sets of discretionary activities.

Antecedents of Time Consumed in Discretionary Activities

Although individuals may not have the luxury to choose how they use their "working" time, people should have the freedom to decide how they spend their "discretionary" time. Due to the finite nature of time, individuals often need to choose among various activities. Jackson-Beeck and Robinson (1981) found that as compared to television-viewers, non-television viewers reported more time spent on work, domestic chores, child rearing, recreation, personal care, education, and social interaction. This finding suggests that there is a tradeoff in time use. While Jackson-Beeck and Robinson (1981) identified the "consequences" of time spent on a specific activity (watching television), it is equally important to identify the "cause" for people to engage in this specific activity instead of another (e.g., education, domestic chore). Based on the existing lterature, three sets of factors seemed to be related to individuals’ time consumed in different categories of discretionary/leisure activities. These three sets of factors are: demographic variables, personality factors, and cultural values.

Demographic Variables. Traditional gender roles prescribe different responsibilities for men and women: Work is for men; family responsibility and home maintenance is for women (Gutek, Searle, and Klepa 1991). Hersch and Stratton (1994) found that, within households in which both spouses are employed full-time, the husbands spend about seven hours per week on housework, while the wives spend about 17 hours per week on housework. Consistently, Hochschild and Machung (1989) found that women worked approximately 15 hours more per week than did men on housework. In a survey of American psychologists, Gutek et al. (1991) reported that while male and female respondents spent practically identical amount of hours in paid work (male was 41.5 and female was 41.3 hours), women reported a total of 33.7 hours on household chores, child care, shopping and household maintenance, as compared to men’s 22.1 hours. These findings consistently suggest that women spend more time on domestic duties than men.

Research findings also indicate women spend more time than men on shopping activities. Polegato and Zaichkowsky (1994) found that 36% of the husbands did none of the family food shopping. Among those husbands who shared the family food shopping role with their wives, they spent 51 minutes in the store, as compared to their wives’ 60 minutes. Fischer and Arnold (1990) found that women gave Christmas gifts to 12.5 recipients while men gave to eight; women spent 2.4 hours per recipient while men spent 2.1 hours.

Bryant and Gerner (1981) found that the number of work hours was negatively related to the time spent on watching television. Bivens and Volker (1980) and Nickols and Fox (1983) consistently reported that female employment had a negative impact on the time spent on meal preparation. In fact, Nickols and Fox (1983) concluded that employed wives had less leisure time. These research findings suggest that the number of working hours may be negatively related to the amount of time spent on various leisure activities and domestic chores.

Settle, Alreck, and Glasheen (1978) reported that education level is the best single socioeconomic status determinant of leisure choice. Bryant and Gerner (1981) found that education level is negatively related to television use. Consistently, Hornik and Schlinger (1981) found that as education level goes up, time spent on watching television decreases, while the time spent on reading magazines and newspapers increases.

Furthermore, Hornik and Schlinger (1981) reported that as age increases, the time spent on reading newspapers increases. On the other hand, Bryant and Gerner (1981) found that as age increases, the time spent on watching television decreases. These research results suggest that while age is negatively related to the time spent on watching television, it may be positively related to the time spent on reading (especially newspaper).

Marmorstein, Grewal, and Fishe (1992) found that as wage rate increases, the time spent on price-comparison shopping decreases. Bryant and Gerner (1981) also reported that as income increases, the time spent on watching television decreases. These findings suggest that income level is negatively related to the time spent on shopping and watching television.

To sum up, we expect that demographic variables, including gender, the number of working hours, education level, age, and income would be related to the time consumed in various sets of activities.

Personality Factors. Certain leisure activities may be fun to some people, but boring to others. Graef, Csikszentmihalyi, and Gianinno (1983) suggest that some people may be more prone to perceive leisure to be boring, while others may be more resistant to boredom. Iso-Ahola and Weissinger (1987, 1990) defined leisure boredom as "the subjective perception that available leisue experiences are not sufficient to instrumentally satisfy needs for optimal arousal." People who have low level of leisure boredom may have an inner quality that enables them to discover rewards in events that others may find neutral and unrewarding. For example, while bird-watchers can spend a whole day identifying (and appreciating) the differences among various kinds of birds, others may find it boring to watch "similar" birds for hours. Therefore, it is logical to expect that people with high leisure boredom may allocate less time to participate in leisure activities that involve repetitive motions, such as riding exercise bicycles, aerobics, and weight lifting.

While the level of leisure boredom may explain why some people will not engage in a certain category of activities, the motivation to maintain a desired arousal level may explain why some will engage in other activities. Consumers who have a high need of arousal may spend their time in leisure activities that are novel, complex, and risky (Hendrix, Kinnear, and Taylor 1979). For example, individuals who have a relative high arousal seeking tendency may prefer to go to amusement parks rather than museums. Therefore, we expect that a person’s arousal seeking tendency is positively related to time consumed in activities that can provide a higher level of excitement. Examples of these activities include participating in football games, going to parties, tasting exotic foods and drinks.

While leisure boredom and arousal seeking tendency may explain why consumers spend their time on various leisure activities, the need for cognition (Cohen, Stotland, and Wolfe 1955; Cacioppo and Petty 1982) may shed light on why some consumers spend their time on domestic chores and activities that allow them to think. Cohen, Stotland, and Wolfe (1955, p.291) described the need for cognition as "a need to structure relevant situations in meaningful, integrated ways. It is a need to understand and make reasonable the experiential world." A similar description can be found in Murphy (1947): "thinkers" feel it is fun to think, and to quest for reality. "Thinkers" may feel more comfortable in a well-organized and tidy home rather than a disorganized and untidy home. Consequently, they may use their time in domestic chores, especially those that result in a tidy, organized environment. On the other hand, "non-thinkers" may prefer to engage in activities that will require low mental effort, such as running, jogging, walking, aerobics, and weight lifting.

To sum up, we expect the three personality factors, leisure boredom, arousal seeking tendency, and the need for cognition, to be related to the time consumed in various sets of activities.

Cultural Values. While an activity may be perceived to be fun for some, it may be perceived to be "work" for others. Babin, Darden, and Griffin (1994) found that for people who have high hedonic shopping values, shopping is fun; while to people who have high utilitarian shopping values, shopping is work. In a national survey, Kamakura and Novak (1992) found that human values are related to respondents’ engagement in a wide variety of activities. In a cross-national study of leisure activities, Beatty et al. (1994) reported that American students spent more time on sport activities than French, Danish, and New Zealand students because Americans are more competitive in nature. It appears that cultural values may explain some of the underlying motivations for engaging in certain activities.

Among the well-documented cultural value theories (such as Hofstede [1980], Bond [1988], Rokeach [1973]), we feel that Schwartz and Bilsky’s (1987, 1990) theory on universal content and structure of human values is most related to the present study. One of the concerns of their cultural value theory is to understand the value priorities in different cultures. For example, in one culture, achievement may be of top priority, but in another culture, hedonism may be the most important value. In the context of allocating the finite amount of time among many discretionary activities the priority of values seems to be useful in predicting which activities consumers would be most likely to participate in.

Schwartz (1992) identified ten universal value domains exist among the 20 countries studied. These value domains include power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, [According to Schwartz (1992), universalism refers to an understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and for nature. Benevolence refers to the preservation and enhancement of the welfare of people with whom one is in frequent personal contact. That is, while universalism embraces a broader scope of prosocial values, benevolence is limited to a narrower scope of prosocial value.] benevolence, tradition, conformity, and security. While some of these value domains may have strong relationship with the time that consumers spend on discretionary activities, others may not be relevant. For example, consumers who believe that hedonism (which is defined as pleasure, enjoying life) is the most important values are more likely to engage in activities that will allow them to enjoy life, such as eating, drinking, or taking a nap. On the other hand, they may be less likely to engage in domestic chores, such as cleaning the home, or doing laundry. Consumers who believe that achievement (which is defined as successful, capable) is the most important goal in their lives are more likely to engage in activities that can offer them a sense of achievement, such as body building (when muscles develop) or gardening (when flowers bloom).

Unfortunately, no published research has reported the relationships between specific cultural domains and participation in leisure activities. Therefore, we have adopted a discovery approach to provide directions for developing hypotheses for future research.

METHOD

Samples

A survey was conducted in four regions/countries, namely, Texas, Michigan, Ontario(Canada), and Hong Kong. A total of 527 junior/senior business majors and MBA students (244 from Texas [Eighty-two percent of the Texas students were Mexican-Americans.], 145 from Hong Kong, 60 from Michigan, and 78 from Ontario) participated in this study. Respondents were rewarded extra credits upon the completion of the questionnaire.

The major advantage of using student samples is the homogeneity of demographics and lifestyles. Moreover, the respondents had similar academic requirements from their respective schools. This homogeneity of "job" responsibilities minimized the undesirable effects caused by different job responsibilities as found in business executive or adult consumer samples. It should also be noted that data were collected in the middle of the fall and spring semesters in all four regions, which were suitable for both indoor and outdoor activities.

Questionnaire

An English questionnaire was prepared, since English is the native language for students in the United States and Canada. Students in Hong Kong are Chinese-English bilingual, and virtually all of them are fluent in English. Therefore, no translation was necessary. The questionnaire consists of four sections. The first section measured the time the students spent on various discretionary activities. The second section was composed of the three psychological factors discussed above. The third section measured the respondents’ cultural values, and th fourth section recorded the respondents’ demographic information.

By integrating the lists of activities reported in Holbrook and Lehmann (1981), Philipp (1992), Floyd and Gramann (1993), Spring (1993), and the authors’ experiences with these four (sub)cultures, [Both authors were born and raised in Hong Kong. While the first author was educated in the Mid-West and is living in Texas, the second author was educated in Canada, and is living in Hong Kong.] a list of 103 activities was composed. To capture all possible types of discretionary activities, three "other (please specify)" activities were also listed. Respondents were asked to recall [Bishop, Jeanrenaud, and Lawson (1975) have provided evidence for good convergent validity between recall-based and diary-based activity measures of duration (r=.78) and frequency (r=.88). Therefore, although the recall-based measurement used in this study may not be the best measurement method, it is considered as reliable.] the amount of time they spent on each of the 106 activities in the past seven days.

After that, respondents were asked to respond to a short version of Mehrabian’s (1978) Arousal Seeking Tendency Scale (AST-II), which contains 12 items (see Baumgartner and Steenkamp [1994] for item reduction). Then, respondents were asked to respond to the short version of the Need For Cognition (NFC) Scale, which contains 18 items (Cacioppo and Petty 1982; Cacioppo, Petty, and Kao 1984). Next, respondents were asked to respond to 16 items of the Leisure Boredom (LB) Scale (Iso-Ahola and Weissinger 1990). All of these items were measured on seven- point scales that ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The Cronbach alphas for the AST-II scale ranged from .72 to .78 across the four samples. The Cronbach alphas for the NFC scales ranged from .79 to .88 across the four samples, and that for the LB scale ranged from .83 to .87 across the four samples.

A 36-item version of Schwartz and Bilsky’s (1987, 1990) value scale was used to reveal the impact of cultural values on the time spent on discretionary activities. Similar to Schwartz (1992), respondents were asked to rate each value "as a guiding principle in my life," using the following nine-point scale: opposed to my values (-1), not important (0), (unlabeled; 1, 2), important (3), (unlabeled; 4,5), very important (6), of supreme importance (7).

Finally, the respondents’ gender, age, education level, number of children, number of working hours per week, nationality, marital status, annual income, and race were recorded. In addition, the amount of thinking activities required by the respondents’ occupation was measured on a 7-point scale, ranging from "not at all" to "a lot". It should be noted that the measurements of income and racial background were modified to match each sample’s local currency and racial composition.

RESULTS

Analysis Procedures

An Overview. First, two factor analyses were performed to identify the discretionary activity structure and the cultural value structure. Next, regression analyses were conducted to identify the relationships between the antecedent variables and the time spent on each set of discretionary activities. Since no a priori theory was available to guide the entry order of each set of antecedents, stepwise regression procedures were performed. To reduce the potential misleading effects of multicolinearity, three sets of hierarchical regression analyses were performed to examine the unique explanatory powe of each set of antecedent variables.

Discretionary Activity Structure. First, the frequency distribution of each of the 106 activities (including the three "others" activities) were examined. Activities that were participated by less than 10% of the respondents were screened out. As a result, only 42 activities were retained. A principal component factor analysis, with oblique rotation, was performed to identify the structure of these discretionary activities. By examining the slope of the scree plot, and the eigenvalues (>1.00), an eight-factor solution was retained (see Exhibit 1). All factor loadings of this eight-factor structure were larger than .30, and 42% of the variance was explained.

Cultural Value Structure. A principal component factor analysis, with oblique rotation, was performed to identify the structure of the 36 cultural values. After examining the slope of the scree plot and eigenvalues (>1.00), a nine-factor solution was retained (see Exhibit 2). All factor loadings of this nine-factor structure were larger than .30, and 61% of the variance was explained.

Antecedents of Time Consumed in Discretionary Activities

Eating and Social Activities. The stepwise regression results suggest that four demographic variables (gender, education level, number of children, and occupation nature) and one psychological factor (arousal seeking tendency) were significantly related to the amount of time spent on eating and social activities (see Table 1). The non-standardized beta coefficients suggest that females, respondents who had higher education level, whose job requires more thinking activities, and people who had higher arousal seeking tendency, spent more time on eating and social activities. On the other hand, respondents who have more children spent less time on this category of activities. These five demographic and psychological factors explained 12.0% of the variance [In a study about time allocated to mass media, Hornik and Schlinger (1981) reported that the demographic and lifestyle variables explained 5-21% of variance of time spent on different types of mass media. Therefore, the regression results reported in this study should be evaluated against this benchmark.] in this set of activities. The results of hierarchical regression analyses show that while demographic variables and psychographic factors had significant unique explanative power on this set of activities (8.3% and 2.2%, respectively), cultural values domains had no unique explanative power (see Table 2). This pattern of results is consistent with that suggested by the stepwise regression results. (See Figure 1)

EXHIBIT 1

THE EIGHT SETS OF DISCRETIONARY ACTIVITIES

EXHIBIT 2

THE NINE DOMAINS OF CULTURAL VALUES

Routines/habitual activities. The stepwise regression results suggest that three cultural domains (achievement, restriction to conformity, and hedonism) were significantly related to the amount of time spent on routines and habitual activities (see Table 1). The non-standardized beta coefficients suggest that individuals who placed high priority for achievement and hedonism spent less time on routines and habitual activities, such as grocery shopping and reading newspaper. On the other hand, respondents who believed that restriction to conformity was highly important spent more time on routines and habitual activities. The three value domains explained 5.2% of the variance in this set of activities. The hierarchical regression results reported in Table 2 show that only cultural value domains had significant unique explanative power on the amount of time spent on routines and habitual activities, R²=.065. Again, this finding is consistent with that performed by stepwise regression analysis (See Figure 1).

TABLE 1

STEPWISE REGRESSION RESULTS

Hedonic Entertainment. The stepwise regression results reported in Table 1 suggest that one psychological factor (arousal seeking tendency) and two cultural domains (universalism and restriction to conformity) were significantly related to th amount of time spent on hedonic entertainment. The non-standardized beta coefficients suggest that individuals who had high arousal seeking tendency, and those who believed that conforming to tradition was important, spent more time in these hedonic activities, such as going to a bar, or drinking alcoholic beverage. On the other hand, respondents who valued universalism spent less time on hedonic activities. These three variables explained 11.7% of the variance in this set of activities. The hierarchical regression analyses suggest that only psychological factors have significant unique explanative power on the time spent on hedonic entertainment, R²=.056 (see Table 2). After partialling out the explanative power of these psychological and demographic variables, the unique explanative power of cultural value domains was not significant. These findings suggest that the explanative power of universalism and conformity to tradition were not reliable. (See Figure 1.)

TABLE 2

UNIQUE EXPLANATIVE POWER OF EACH TYPE OF ANTECEDENTS

Sports. The stepwise regression results indicate that all three types of antecedent variables were related to the time spent on various sport activities (see Table 1). Specifically, the non-standardized beta coefficients suggest that individuals who valued achievement, who believed that restrictions to conformity was important, and who have a high arousal seeking tendency allocated more time to sports activities, such as jogging, aerobics, or attending sports events. On the other hand, individuals who valued wisdom, those who had low resistance to leisure boredom, and who had to work for long hours, spent less time on these activities. These seven variables explained 18.1% of the variance in this set of activities. The results of hierarchical regression analyses suggest that only psychological factors and cultural value domains had significant unique explanative power on time spent on sports activities, R²=.055 and .085, respectively (see Table 2). However, after removing the explanative power of these two sets of antecedents, the unique explanative power of demographic variables was not significant. This finding suggests that the explanative power of the number of working hours was not reliable. (See Figure 1.)

Hobbies. The stepwise regression results indicate that three cultural value domains and a psychological factor were related to the amount of time spent on hobbies. Specifically, the non-standardized beta coefficients suggest that individuals who believed that conforming to tradition was important, who valued achievement, and who have a high arousal seeking tendency, allocated more time to hobbies such as driving for pleasure and watching movies. On the other hand, individuals who valued universalism spent less time on hobbies. These four variables explained 6.7% of the variance in this set of activities. The results of hierarchical regression analyses show that none of the three sets of antecedents have significant unique explanative power on the time spent on hobbies (see Table 2). This finding suggests that the stepwise regression results reported above may not be reliable.

Family/Personal Maintenance. The stepwise regression results indicate that gender and two psychological factors were related to the time spent on family and personal maintenance (see Table 1). Specifically, the non-standardized beta coefficients suggest that, female respondents, respondents who had high need for cognition, and who felt leisure activities were boring, spent more time on family and personal maintenance such as cleaning the home, cooking, and taking care of pets. These three variables explained 12.3% of the variance in this set of activities. The hierarchical regression results suggest that both demographic and psychological factors had significant unique explanative power on time spent on family and personal maintenance (see Table 2). This finding is consistent with the results produced by stepwise regression reported above. (See Figure 1.)

Music and Family Activities. The stepwise regression results indicate that all three types of antecedents were related to the time spent on music and family activities (Table 1). Specifically, the non-tandardized beta coefficients suggest that respondents who had high arousal seeking tendency, female respondents, and respondents who valued achievement, spent more time listening to the radio and attending family organizations. On the other hand, the respondents who felt that leisure activities were boring spent less time on these activities. These four variables explained 10.6% of the variance in this set of activities. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses suggest that only psychological factors had significant unique explanative power on the time spent on music and family activities (Table 2). This finding suggests that gender and achievement values were not reliable in predicting the time respondents spent on music and family activities. (See Figure 1.)

Reading and Television. The stepwise regression results indicate that all three types of antecedents were related to the time spent on reading books and magazines, and watching television (Table 1). Specifically, respondents who believed that hedonistic lifestyle was important, and respondents whose jobs require more thinking activities, and respondents who felt leisure activities were boring, spent more time reading books and magazines, and watching television. On the other hand, respondents who had higher incomes, and respondents who believed that achievement was important, spent less time watching television or reading books and magazines. These five variables explained 7.1% of the variance in this set of activities. The hierarchical regression analyses results suggest that only demographic factors had significant unique explanative power on the time spent on reading and watching television (see Table 2). This finding suggests that achievement, hedonism, and leisure boredom were not reliable in predicting the time respondent spent on reading and watching television.

FIGURE 1

ANTECEDENTS OF TIME CONSUMED IN EIGHT CATEGORIES OF ACTIVITIES

CONCLUSION AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

The purpose of this study was to identify the antecedents of time spent on various non-work activities. As summarized in Figure 1, the specific relationships between the three sets of antecedents (demographic, psychological, cultural factors) and time spent on eight categories of discretionary/leisure activities were identified.

The Impact of Demographic Characteristics on Time Consumption

As a category, demographic variables were found to be most strongly related to family and personal maintenance, eating and social activities, and reading and watching television (see Table 2 and Figure 1). Of special interest are family and personal maintenance: They are necessities for virtually every household, but not necessarily necessities for each individual. For instance, in a traditional household, the wife/mother usually assumes the duties of doing laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, etc. Consequently, the role(s) taken by each household member pressed them to allocate time to their role-related activities. In this tudy, only 11.7% to 12.3% of the variances in time spent on these three sets of activities were explained. By incorporating family role(s) as a predictor for time spent on these activities, future research should be able to achieve a better predictive power. In addition, to extend the validity of the present findings, future research should employ a non-student sample.

The Impact of Psychological Characteristics on Time Consumption

As expected, consumers with high arousal seeking tendency are more likely to dine out, consume various hedonic entertainments, and listen to music/radio. With little surprise, people who perceive leisure as boring, spend less time on sports and music, but spend more time on family and personal maintenance. It seems that these people would rather spend their time working than to having fun. On the other hand, there is a significant relationship between need for cognition and family and personal maintenance. This finding suggest that "thinkers," who prefer to structure their minds in meaningful ways also prefer to structure their environment in an organized manner. As a group, these three psychological factors were found to be related to six out of eight sets of discretionary activities. This finding suggests that need for cognition, arousal seeking tendency, and leisure boredom are useful in understanding consumers’ time spent on various activities. Future study should identify additional psychological factors, which may enhance our understanding of the consumption of discretionary time.

The Impact of Cultural Values on Time Consumption

As expected, people who prefer hedonic lifestyle spend less time on routines and habitual activities (such as grocery shopping and religious activities), but spend more time on reading and watching television. On the other hand, people who value achievements spend less time reading and watching television, and, routines and habitual activities, which can be considered unproductive activities. From the perspective of motivation theory, "achievers" choose to engage in various sports activities because these activities may help them to obtain a sense of achievement. Interesting enough, people who value wisdom, spend less time on sport activities. Finally, people who are more restricting to conformity spend more time on routines and habitual activities, but less time on sports activities. Despite these significant findings, only four out of nine cultural value domains contribute to our understanding of the time consumers spend on discretionary activities. One explanation is that some mediating variables are involved. They may help establish the paths between cultural values and time spent on various activities. Future study should explore variables that may mediate the relationships between cultural values and time spent on various activities.

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