The impact of chronic and situationally-induced regulatory foci on exercise outcomes

Brian Law

    Research output: ThesisMaster's Thesis

    169 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    [Truncated abstract] Physical activity is an important tool in combating various forms of chronic disease. Despite the health benefits of physical exercise, however, a large proportion of the population fails to engage in levels of exercise sufficient to guard against these diseases. Consequently, researchers have begun to explore programs and techniques that might facilitate physical activity in the general population. One of the topics of research that has captured recent attention in this area has been an examination of environmental influences on goal activation and pursuit. The aim of the study presented in this thesis was to explore this issue in relation to the activation and pursuit of regulatory foci discussed in regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997). More specifically, the study was focused on the effects of matching images to participants’ chronic regulatory (i.e., promotion or prevention) orientations. In regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997), a ‘promotion orientation’ refers to people who are concerned with success, whereas a ‘prevention orientation’ refers to those who tend to be concerned with failure. It was hypothesized that participants who viewed images that matched their chronic orientations would exercise harder (as indicated by higher heart rate readings), report lower rating of perceived exertion, have higher intention to engage in future exercise, and assign more monetary value to a similar 30 minute cycling class.
    Original languageEnglish
    QualificationMasters
    Publication statusUnpublished - 2013

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