9: Psychology of Physical Activity

Question 1

what is exercise psychology

Answer 1

the application of psychology to health enhancing physical activity and exercise

Question 2

why people exercise

Answer 2

weight control - reduces risk for coronary heart disease, self presentational, social physique anxiety
reduces risk of cardiovascular disease - keeps blood pressure low, lowers hypertensions, don’t know dose-response relationship
reduction in stress and depression - improved mental health, cope with anxiety (more than other treatments) and depression
enjoyment
enhancement of self-esteem - satisfaction from accomplishment, hoped-for-self increases elderly exercise behaviour
opportunities to socialise

Question 3

physical activity guidelines

Answer 3

first introduced 1996, updated most recently in 2019
provides recommendations for volume duration, frequency and type
evidence based, however not much public are aware of it
150 moderate a week
or 75 vigorous a week
18% able to recall guidelines for moderate to vigorous activity
8.4% correctly identified moderate to vigorous activity from list of 17 options

Question 4

PA and the environment

Answer 4

in 2015, 34% men and 42% women reported not meeting guidelines on PA
number of people
number of people meeting recommendations levels decrease with age
23% boys and 20% girls not meet ages 5-15
10% boys and 9% girls not meet aged 2-4

Question 5

reasons for not exercising

Answer 5

despite social, health and personal benefits some people still choose not to exercise
because of: perceived lack of time, lack of energy, lack of motivation (top 3 reasons)
all factors can individual can control, as opposed to environmental factors out of their control
internal and personally controllable causes

Question 6

population-based study: reasons attributed to omitting exercise

Answer 6

older adults - more health reasons for not partaking (e.g. injury, disabilities), selected more internal barriers than situational, women selected more internal
internal barriers are not easily amendable so this poses a difficult problem for women
adolescents and college students - parents more interested in academic success, lack of time, previous physical inactivity, siblings nonparticipation, being female

Question 7

sedentary behaviour

Answer 7

more recent years, researchers studying exercise behaviour and ways to increase adherence
sedentary behaviour = total lack of exercise
classed as “sitting time”
results in specific health outcomes: decreased fitness, lower self-esteem, decreased academic achievement, high body composition, lower prosocial behaviour
adults: highest sedentary group had a 73% increased risk of metabolic syndrome compared to those in the lowest sedentary group
sedentary behaviour leads to increase CV disease
interventions developed to reduce sedentary behaviour in both youth and adults e.g. goal setting, preplanning, positive reinforcement

Question 8

problems of adherence

Answer 8

adherence = attached to or sticking with something
prescriptions often based solely on fitness data ignoring psychological readiness to exercise
most exercise prescriptions overly restrictive and not optimal for enhancing motivation for regular exercise
rigid exercise prescriptions based on principles of intensity, duration and frequency - too challenging for many
traditional exercise prescription does not promote self-responsibility or empower people to make long-term behaviour change
solution: set several smaller goals that build towards main goal
however: changing behaviour is a complex process

Question 9

health belief model

Answer 9

attempts to explain and predict health behaviours
focus on attitudes and beliefs of individuals
based on the following
- individual desire to avoid illness or get well in case of current illness
- individual beliefs that an exact health act might avoid or treat illness

Question 10

the model

Answer 10

perceived health threat = reflects beliefs about the perceived severity of a particular illness, as well as beliefs about ones vulnerability to illness
perceived effectiveness of health behaviour = weighs up benefits and costs or performing respective behaviour
general health motivation = general willingness to address health issue
cues to action = environmental or situation factors that prompt performance of behaviour

some success with model, but inconsistent results because model originally developed to focus on disease not exercise

Question 11

theory of planned behaviour

Answer 11

extension of theory of reasoned action
- individual performance of a given behaviour is primarily determined by a person’s intention to perform that behaviour
- assumes: human behaviour is under voluntary control, people think about the consequences and implications of their actions, therefore intention must be highly correlated to behaviour

Question 12

the extension

Answer 12

intentions cannot be the sole predictors of behaviour, especially in situation which people lack control over their behaviour
planned behaviour theory states that in addition to subjective norms and attitudes, perceived behavioural control (people’s perceptions of their ability to perform the behaviour) will also affect behavioural outcomes
perceived behavioural control comes from self-efficacy (into tension) or controllability (into behaviour)
theory of planned behaviour is superior (greater effect size) to theory of reasoned action accounting for exercise

Question 13

transtheoretical model

Answer 13

argues individuals progress through stages of change and that movement across the stages is cyclic rather than linear because many people do not succeed in their efforts to establish and maintain lifestyle changes
interventions and information need to be tailored to match the particular stage an individual is in at the time

Question 14

precontemplation

Answer 14

no intention about changing their behaviour
do not intend to start exercising in next 6 months
demoralised about their ability to change
defensive because of social pressures
uninformed about long-term consequences of their behaviour

Question 15

contemplation

Answer 15

intending to change behaviour in next 6 months - usually remain in this stage for 2 years
fleeting thought about starting to exercise but is unlikely to act on that thought

Question 16

preparation

Answer 16

exercising somewhat - perhaps fewer than 3 times a week, not regular enough to produce any major benefits
have a plan of action - taken action to make behavioural changes

Question 17

action

Answer 17

exercising regularly (3 of more times a week for 20 mins)
been doing it for fewer than 6 months
last stable stage - tends to correspond with highest risk relapse
50% drop out within first 6 months

Question 18

maintenance

Answer 18

exercising regularly more than 6 months
likely to maintain regular exercise
problems can occur such as boredom or loss of focus
increase in self-efficacy to overcome barriers
people more intrinsically motivated than extrinsically

Question 19

termination stage

Answer 19

stayed in termination stage for 5 years then individual is considered to have exited the cycle of change and relapse simply does not exist
exercise is part of who they are now
study: 16% of participants indicated that they were in termination stage
concluded that individuals in termination stage are resistant to relapse despite common barriers to exercise such as lack of time, no energy, low motivation, bad weather

Question 20

decision balance

Answer 20

decision balance = cost benefit analysis when making decisions about exercise
meta analysis:
- pros increase for every forward stage and that the largest change occurs between pre-contemplative stage and contemplative
- cons decreased for every stage forward
- motives for exercise become more internal as participant progressed through stages

Question 21

behavioural modification approach to enhance exercise

Answer 21

planned systemic application of learning principles to the modification of behaviour
behaviour modification approaches produced positive results
associated with a 10% to 25% increase in frequency of PA when compared to control groups
for example, prompts:
- a cue that initiates behaviour e.g. posters, slogans, notes
- goal is to increase cues for the desired behaviour and decrease cues for the competing behaviour
- promoting stair use among female employees - bassline, intervention, email all increased usage until removal of prompt (back to baseline)
- should have started fading prompts out slowly

Question 22

reinforcement

Answer 22

feedback and monitoring
keeping a record of a specified behaviour/outcome, can be manual or wearable technology
study on effects of wearable activity trackers:
- significant increase in daily step count, moderate and vigorous physical activity and energy expenditure, non-significant decrease is sedentary behaviour vs control
- conclude that wearable activity trackers are a primary component of intervention or as a part of a broader intervention has potential to increase PA

self monitoring increased exercise but simultaneously reduced enjoyment by making it feel like work

Question 23

pros vs cons of wearable technology

Answer 23

+ increased self awareness of PA behaviour
+ allowed reflection on what/how to change
+ motivation strengthened through prompts, goal setting, social features and gamification
- unmet goals lead to discouragement, guilt, shame and stress
- unhealthy preoccupation with checking data

Question 24

cognitive behavioural approaches: goal setting

Answer 24

goals most often reported - increasing cardio, toning/strengthening muscles, losing weight
goals with action plans - bringing fitness clothes to work/school attending exercise class regularly, organising time/work around fitness