exercise psychology rod k. dishman and heather o. chambliss “muscular vigor will…always be...

Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Exercise PsychologyRod K. Dishman and Heather O. Chambliss

“Muscular vigor will…always be needed to furnish the background of sanity, serenity, and cheerfulness to life,…to round off the wiry edge of our fretfulness, and make us good-humored and easy of approach.”

William James, 1899

Chapter 24


Introduction

Evidence supports that physical activity reduces odds of

disorders such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline associated with aging, while

promoting self-esteem, better sleep, and feelings of energy

and well-being


Exercise Statistics

• 25-40% of U.S. adults not active during their leisure time

• Another 20-25% do not meet recommended activity levels for health and fitness

• 42% of U.S. children ages 6-11 years of age were active at the recommended level of an hour each day, but only 8% of adolescents were active at that level


Primary Focus of Exercise Psychology• The social-cognitive and environmental antecedents of

leisure-time physical activity and the psychological consequences of being physically active

• Exercise and mental health• Issues in physical activity behavior change and exercise

adherence


Exercise and Mental Health

• Physical activity or exercise have favorable effects on mental health

• Chronic exercise and physical fitness are associated with:o anxietyo depressiono self-esteem

• These disorders not only affect quality of life, but also increase the risks for other chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease


Exercise and Mental Health (cont.)• Anxiety

• Anxiety is typically reduced by about one-half SD after an exercise session of moderate-vigorous intensity

• Anxiety reductions were greatest when sessions lasted at least 30 minutes with people reported anxiety symptoms for more than a week

• YET no consensus on what kind or how much exercise


Exercise and Mental Health (cont.)

• Depression• Exercise training can reduce signs or

symptoms of depression to a degree comparable to antidepressant drugs

• YET no consensus on what kind or how much exercise


Exercise and Mental Health (cont.)• Distress and Well-Being

• Psychological distress is risk factor for psychiatric disorders, coronary heart disease, and poorer quality of life

• Feelings of well-being can reduce psychiatric risk and is an important feature of high life quality and health

• Evidence is ambiguous as to the effects of exercise training on physiological responses to mental stress


Exercise and Mental Health (cont.)• Sleep

• 50-70 million Americans experience health effects from sleep disorders, sleep deprivation, and excessive daytime sleepiness each year

• Some evidence shows higher levels of usual physical activity appear to be protective against incident and chronic insomnia in older adults

• Exercise training led to improvements in self-rated sleep among older adults who had sleep problems

• YET long term effects of exercise among poor sleepers are not known



• Feelings of Fatigue or Low Energy• About 20% of adults say they have persistent feelings of fatigue• Randomized controlled trials of groups of medical patients and adults

show a moderate reductions in symptoms of fatigue from exercise


Exercise and Mental Health (cont.)• Self-Esteem

• Important to mental health because it provides a feeling of value or worth

• Strongest evidence for positive effects of exercise on mental health is for self-esteem

• Changes in self-esteem more likely in children than adults• YET it remains unclear whether it is exercise itself that

increases self-esteem, or something in the social context of the exercise setting



• Cognitive Function• Cognition = selection, manipulation, and storage of information

then using that info to guide behavior• Exercise can improve cognitive functioning in older adults and

children• Fitness is more related to performance on tasks that are novel,

complex, and require attention and fast processing speed• Cardio respiratory fitness and chronic aerobic exercise training

facilitate executive control functions of cognition among older adults


Plausible Mediators or Mechanisms

• The explanations of how physical activity improves mental health are largely unknown…but same is true of psychotherapy and medications

• A few hypotheses:• Thermogenic hypothesis• Increased brain opioids• Hemispheric asymmetry in brain

electroencephalographic • And many, many more


Research Issues in Exercise and Mental Health

• Some inconsistencies in findings are due to the quality of research

• Many studies do not: • Adequately quantify physical activity and exertion • Control for subject expectancy or social interaction effects• Consider health and activity history of the participants

• More studies needed to research different types of exercise, different levels of exertion, etc.


Physical Activity Behavior Change• Many adults have trouble maintaining

an active lifestyle• Less than 10% of U.S. adults and

adolescents are sufficiently active• 25-50% of people dropout of exercise

programs

• No consensus about whether the most successful interventions will be those that change people or change their environments

• Both are probably necessary


Theories of Exercise Behavior• Social-cognitive theory

• Cognition, affect, and value related variables are mediators in choice of goals, and thus exercise behavior

• Self-efficacy (performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological/psychological states)

• Outcome expectancy• Individuals who adopt challenging goals and

have confidence in attaining them would have optimal motivation for exercise


Theories of Exercise Behavior (cont.)• Self-determination theory

• Hypothesizes how intrinsic motives for physical activity develop AND interact with physical and social-environments to influence physical activity

• Complimentary to social-cognitive theory• Assumes that people strive for autonomy,

competence, and relatedness• Autonomous motivation VS. controlled

motivation

Theories of Exercise Behavior (cont.)

• Behavior modification theory• Planned, systematic application of

principles of learning to the modification of behavior

• Behavior change results from associations between external stimuli and the consequences of a specific behavior

• Minimizes the role of thoughts, motives, and perceptions

• Examples: written agreements, behavioral contracts, lotteries, etc.

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McGraw-Hill Education.


Theories of Exercise Behavior (cont.)• Cognitive-behavior modification model

• Assumes psychological variables mediate behavior• Learning or insight can serve to restructure, augment, or

replace faulty thoughts with behaviorally effective beliefs and cognitive skills

• Examples: self-monitoring, goal setting, feedback, and decision-making


Theories of Exercise Behavior (cont.)• Transtheoretical model

• Behavior change is seen as a dynamic process that occurs through a series of five stages

1. Precontemplation - not thinking about exercise2. Contemplation - considering exercise3. Preparation - plan is made4. Action - have started exercise5. Maintenance - exercise behavior continues

• Proposed that the mediators of change are self-efficacy, decisional balance (pros and cons), and processes of change


Theories of Exercise Behavior (cont.)

•Ecological model• Behaviors can be influenced by intrapersonal,

social and physical environments, and public policy variables

• Behavioral setting can facilitate the decision to be more or less active

• Centers for Disease Control has adapted this model by making geographical areas more exercise friendly (schools, personal transportation, and access to facilities)


Correlates of Physical Activity• Personal attributes

• Cognitions, beliefs, attitudes, emotions, and values that can interact with environmental variables

• Smoking, education, income, ethnicity, age, and gender• No evidence these factors CAUSE inactivity

• Social and environmental features• Social and physical environments can make it very difficult

for people to be physically active for transportation or leisure

• YET the importance of the social and physical environments for promoting physical activity is not clear

Correlates of Physical Activity (cont.)

• Physical activity dimensions• How do frequency, intensity, and duration

enhance adoption of and adherence to physical activity?

• Exercise prescription based on preferred intensities might increase adherence to exercise programs

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Interventions• Change in exercise behavior

increases adherence from 50% without intervention to about 85% after intervention

• Behavioral economics studies demonstrate the strong influence of environmental context on sedentary choices made by children and adolescents

• Promote environmental manipulations to increase opportunities and decrease barriers to physical activity

• Informational interventions Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of



Behavioral Strategies• Stimulus control

• Manipulate antecedent conditions that prompt a behavior• Increase cues for the desired behavior; decrease cues for

competing sedentary behaviors• Examples: posters, slogans, posted notes, placement of exercise

equipment in visible places, recruitment of social support, and performance of exercise at the same time and place every day

• Reinforcement control• Understand and controlling the consequences of target

behavior to increase (or decrease) its occurrence• Rewarding a behavior to increase its frequency• Examples: contracts with consequences, positive feedback, tokens,

participation-based prizes, and group lotteries


Behavioral Strategies (cont.)• Goal setting

• Serve to immediately regulate behavior, provide direction, mobilize effort, foster persistence

• Specific, measurable goals easier to monitor progress, make adjustments, and know when goal has been accomplished

• Should be challenging but also reasonable and realistic


Behavioral Strategies (cont.)

• Relapse prevention• The individual anticipates that interruptions occur, recognizes them as

temporary obstructions, and develops self-regulatory skills


Research Issues in Exercise Behavior

1. Use of cross-sectional correlational designs2. Poorly validated measures of the moderators and

mediators3. Self-reported measures of physical activity

• Not objective

4. Limited use of statistical procedures that permit multilevel modeling of direct, indirect, and moderated relations of physical activity

exercise psychology rod k. dishman and heather o. chambliss “muscular vigor will…always be...

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