Exercise Psychology

— Examine how exercise impacts how people feel about themselves

  • feelings of well being

  • mood states

  • mental performance

Perception:

— Recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli based on memory

  • feelings about a situation based on past experiences

Motivation

3 components:

  1. direction

  2. intensity

  3. persistence

— these three components need to be considered in exercise as well

Exercise Participation Motivation

— refers to the direction component of motivation

  • its the first step in initiating exercise

Self Efficacy

— feeling like you have the skills and ability to do a given behavior

— varies with different behaviors and even with changes to the various components of a behavior

Behaviors have 4 components:

  1. action (what to do)

  2. time (for how long)

  3. target (frequency)

  4. context (under what conditions/when)

— improving self efficacy is one of the best ways to motivate and individual

  • gives us a sense of control and competence

  • knowing something is good for us isn’t good enough

Ways to Improve Self Efficacy:

  • performance accomplishments

  • various experiences

  • verbal and social persuasion

Exercise Adherence Motivation

— Focus on the persistence component of motivation

Influenced by:

  • biological factors(body comp, fitness, injury state)

  • psychological factors (mood, motivation, and attitude)

  • sensory factors (enjoyment, pain)

  • situational factors (when, where, who)

Goal Setting:

— if intrinsic motivation is low, use goal setting to enhance motivation

Address all components of motivation:

  • direction

  • intensity

  • persistence

— goals also reflect improvement


Goal Setting Steps:
1. set the goal (SMART)

  • Specific

  • Measurable

  • Attainable

  • Realistic

  • Time bound

  1. set the target date

  2. determine strategy to achieve

Exercise Adherence - Identity Theory

Individual and Social Identity

— think as self as an exerciser/athlete

  • trusted group support is an important part of the changing ones identity

How to Get Non-Exerciser to Exercise