Psychological determinants of exercise behavior

Background: Even with the well-known and well-advertised preventative and therapeutic benefits of regular physical activity, only ~20-25% of adults self-report meeting physical activity recommendations and that number decreases to ~5-10% when assessed with technology-based recordings. With 75-95% of adults failing to engage in enough physical activity to reap the health benefits, it is crucial to direct efforts towards understanding why some individuals initiate and maintain a physical activity routine while others do not. Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to conceptualize ‘personality’ in the context of exercise and explore how individual differences influence future exercise behavior. Moreover, it is of particular interest whether a persistent exercise routine may evoke positive, personality development (e.g., improve Emotional Stability via trait Anxiety reductions and strengthened Resilience). Methods: This project includes data, analysis, and interpretation from two distinct studies. The first study was integrated into an academic course, where undergraduate students (N=264) enrolled in the course participated in all aspects of the study via lab activities or assignments. They completed an online survey to assess descriptive, educational, demographic, and retrospective exercise behavior as well as various individual differences (i.e., Big Five Personality Constructs, Resilience, Exercise Autonomy, Affective Associations towards Exercise), and completed health-related fitness testing and cognitive testing (i.e., to assess implicit attitudes towards exercise & cognitive control). Finally, they completed a self-report 7-day exercise journal while a subset of students simultaneously wore accelerometers. For the second study, previously sedentary, middle-aged adults (N=29) completed a progressive resistance exercise training (RET) intervention on 3 d･wk-1 for 10-weeks. Prior to beginning and following the RET intervention, participants’ psychological traits (i.e., construct Neuroticism, trait facet Resilience, and trait facet Anxiety) were assessed. Results: While numerous relationships were observed between personality and future exercise behavior, Exercise Autonomy had the greatest influence on future exercise Frequency, Duration, and Intensity. Moreover, while trait Extraversion has been touted as an important predictor of exercise behavior in previous literature, this study did not observe any relation between Extraversion and exercise behaviors (past or future), except when considering whether someone typically exercises alone or with a group. In addition, a significant decrease in trait Anxiety, a facet of Emotional Stability, was observed following the 10-week RET intervention. Conclusion: ‘Personality’ can be conceptualized as consistent patterns in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This study, considering multiple theoretical foundations, attempted to address how cognitive ability (i.e., cognitive control), affective associations (i.e., feelings/attitudes about exercise), personality constructs (e.g., Neuroticism, Extraversion), self-regulation (i.e., resilience, autonomy) and past exercise behavior explained future exercise behavior. Numerous psychological determinants were associated with past behavior, but the most important driver(s) of future behavior are past behavior and the degree of perceived Exercise Autonomy. That is, those who are personally fulfilled by exercise (e.g., brings pleasure and enjoyment, identify as an exerciser) are more likely to engage in exercise more frequently, for longer durations, and with greater intensity. Finally, the observed reduction in trait Anxiety for middle-age adults provides promising evidence of the potential for personality development through regular exercise.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Kinesiology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Box, Allyson G

Contributors dc:contributor

• Petruzzello, Steven J
• Federmeier, Kara D
• Xia, Yan
• Wilson, Kathryn E

• Personality
• Self-regulation
• Affective Associations

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Allyson Box

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115456

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115456