John Neulinger

John Neulinger
John Neulinger circa 1989
Born	(1924-04-26)26 April 1924 Dresden, Germany
Died	20 June 1991(1991-06-20) (aged 67) Dolgeville, New York, USA
Nationality	German-American
Alma mater	Hunter College New York University
Known for	Leisure model, leisure lack, universal leisure society
Scientific career
Fields	Social psychology Leisure studies
Institutions	City College of New York Society for the Reduction of Human Labor

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.^[1] 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.