Regulatory Fit Messages and Physical Activity Motivation

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Pfeffer

Targeted communication about health behaviors seems to be more effective than mass communication in which undifferentiated audiences receive identical messages. Regulatory focus is psychological variable that can be used to build two target groups: promotion-focused or prevention-focused people. It is hypothesized that targeting messages to an individual’s regulatory focus creates regulatory fit and is more successful to promote a physically active lifestyle than nonfit messages. Two different print messages promoting a physically active lifestyle derived from regulatory focus theory (promotion message vs. prevention message) were randomly assigned to N = 98 participants after measuring their regulatory focus. It was examined whether regulatory fit between the regulatory focus and the assigned print message would lead to more positive evaluations in the dependent variables inclination toward the message (preference for the message), intention to perform the behavior, prospective and retrospective feelings associated with the behavior (positive and negative), and perceived value of the behavior directly after reading the message. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that regulatory fit led to stronger intentions in the prevention-message condition and more prospective positive and retrospective positive feelings associated with the behavior in the promotion-message condition in contrast to the nonfit conditions. Prospective positive feelings associated with the behavior mediated the effect of regulatory fit on intention. The results partly provided support for the regulatory fit concept. Matching print messages to the regulatory focus of individuals seems to be a useful approach to enhance physical activity motivation. Future studies should include an objective measure of physical activity behavior.

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e017785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie R Filbay ◽  
Felicity L Bishop ◽  
Nicholas Peirce ◽  
Mary E Jones ◽  
Nigel K Arden

ObjectivesThe health benefits of professional sport dissipate after retirement unless an active lifestyle is adopted, yet reasons for adopting an active or inactive lifestyle after retirement from sport are poorly understood. Elite cricket is all-encompassing, requiring a high volume of activity and unique physical demands. We aimed to identify influences on physical activity behaviours in active and insufficiently active former elite cricketers and provide practical strategies for promoting physical activity after cricket retirement.Design18 audio-recorded semistructured telephone interviews were performed. An inductive thematic approach was used and coding was iterative and data-driven facilitated by NVivo software. Themes were compared between sufficiently active and insufficiently active participants.SettingAll participants formerly played professional cricket in the UK.ParticipantsParticipants were male, mean age 57±11 (range 34–77) years, participated in professional cricket for 12±7 seasons and retired on average 23±9 years previously. Ten participants (56%) were classified as sufficiently active according to the UK Physical Activity Guidelines (moderate-intensity activity ≥150 min per week or vigorous-intensity activity ≥75 min per week). Eight participants did not meet these guidelines and were classified as insufficiently active.ResultsKey physical activity influences were time constraints, habit formation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, physical activity preferences, pain/physical impairment and cricket coaching. Recommendations for optimising physical activity across the lifespan after cricket retirement included; prioritise physical activity, establish a physical activity plan prior to cricket retirement and don’t take a break from physical activity, evaluate sources of physical activity motivation and incorporate into a physical activity plan, find multiple forms of satisfying physical activity that can be adapted to accommodate fluctuations in physical capabilities across the lifespan and coach cricket.ConclusionsPhysically active and less active retired cricketers shared contrasting attributes that informed recommendations for promoting a sustainable, physically active lifestyle after retirement from professional cricket.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Sadat Rezai ◽  
Catherine Marie Burns

BACKGROUND There have been challenges in designing effective behaviour-change interventions, including those that promote physical activity. One of the key reasons is that many of those systems do not account for individuals’ characteristics and their psychological differences, which affect their approach toward adopting target behaviour. For decades, tailoring has been used as a common technique to effectively communicate health-related information to persuade people to follow a healthier living. However, its use in the design of persuasive technologies has not been adequately investigated. OBJECTIVE The objective of this research is to explore the effects of tailoring when it is grounded in Higgins’ regulatory focus theory. METHODS A combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies has been proposed to examine how individuals’ intention to become more physically active would be affected by receiving health messages that may or may not match their self-regulatory orientation. The research would also subjectively, as well as objectively, measures the changes in individuals’ physical activity level. RESULTS The anticipated completion date for the consequent studies is December 2016. CONCLUSIONS In this article, the importance of refining message-framing research questions and a stepwise approach to develop an efficient experimental design to examine a new tailoring strategy is discussed. A set of small studies is proposed that would inform the best approach to design the principal experiment. The findings of principal experiment will provide a deeper insight into the relationship between regulatory-focus theory, persuasive message construction, and individuals’ physical activity behaviour.


2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (9) ◽  
pp. 1039-1048 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wagenmakers ◽  
Martin Stevens ◽  
Wiebren Zijlstra ◽  
Monique L Jacobs ◽  
Inge van den Akker-Scheek ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose Despite recognized health benefits of physical activity, little is known about the habitual physical activity behavior of patients after total hip arthroplasty (THA). The purpose of this study was to analyze this behavior and the fulfillment of guidelines for health-enhancing physical activity of these patients compared with a normative population. Subjects and Methods The participants were 273 patients who had undergone a primary THA (minimum of 1 year postoperatively). Comparisons were made between this group and 273 age- and sex-matched individuals from a normative population. Comparisons also were made between participants with THA under 65 years of age and those 65 years of age and older and among participants with THA in different Charnley classes. Level of physical activity was assessed with the Short QUestionnaire to ASsess Health-enhancing physical activity (SQUASH). Results No significant differences in total amount of physical activity or time spent in different categories of physical activity were found between the THA group and the normative group. Participants with THA spent significantly more minutes in activities of moderate intensity compared with the normative group. Participants with THA who were under 65 years of age were significantly more active than older participants with THA. Charnley class had significant effects on time spent at work, time spent in moderate-intensity activities, and total amount of activity, with the least activity performed by participants in Charnley class C. The guidelines were met by 51.2% of the participants with THA and 48.8% of the normative population. Female participants met the guidelines less frequently than male participants in both the combined groups (odds ratio=0.50, 95% confidence interval=0.35–0.72, P<.001) and the THA group (odds ratio=0.48, 95% confidence interval=0.28–0.80, P=.001). Discussion and Conclusion The results suggest that patients after THA are at least as physically active as a normative population. Nevertheless, a large percentage of these patients do not meet the guidelines; therefore, they need to be stimulated to become more physically active.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1105-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Goodman ◽  
James Paskins ◽  
Roger Mackett

Background:Children in primary school are more physically active in the spring/summer. Little is known about the relative contributions of day length and weather, however, or about the underlying behavioral mediators.Methods:325 British children aged 8 to 11 wore accelerometers as an objective measure of physical activity, measured in terms of mean activity counts. Children simultaneously completed diaries in which we identified episodes of out-of-home play, structured sports, and active travel. Our main exposure measures were day length, temperature, rainfall, cloud cover, and wind speed.Results:Overall physical activity was higher on long days (≥ 14 hours daylight), but there was no difference between short (< 9.5 hours) and medium days (10.2–12.6 hours). The effect of long day length was largest between 5 PM and 8 PM, and persisted after adjusting for rainfall, cloud cover, and wind. Up to half this effect was explained by a greater duration and intensity of out-of-home play on long days; structured sports and active travel were less affected by day length.Conclusions:At least above a certain threshold, longer afternoon/evening daylight may have a causal role in increasing child physical activity. This strengthens the public health arguments for daylight saving measures such as those recently under consideration in Britain.


Author(s):  
Amanda L. Rebar

Much of our sport and physical activity behavior is regulated by processes occurring outside of conscious awareness. In contrast, most sport and physical activity research focuses on processes that are easily accessible by conscious introspection. More and more, however, research is demonstrating that automatic regulation is instrumental to our understanding of how to get people to maintain a physically active lifestyle and how to get the most out of people’s sports performance potential. Automatic regulation is the influence on our thoughts and actions that result from the mental network of associations we use to make sense of the world around us. Habits are automatic associations of cues with behavioral responses. Automatic evaluations are automatic associations of cues as being good or bad. Automatic schemas are automatic associations of cues with actual or ideal self-identity. These processes have been assessed with implicit measures by making indirect inferences from self-report or response latency tasks. Emerging research demonstrates that automatic associations influence sport performance and physical activity behavior, but further work is still needed to establish which type of automatic regulation is responsible for these influences and how automatic regulation and reflective processes interact to impact movement.


Sports ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuba Melekoğlu ◽  
Erdi Sezgin ◽  
Ali Işın ◽  
Ayşen Türk

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a physically active lifestyle affects the health of former football players. Sixty former professional football players aged 40–50 years and who ended their sports career at least ten years ago were recruited for the study and grouped into two groups based on their physical activity habits after their retirement. Health and lifestyle characteristics were collected through a questionnaire to obtain information about recreational physical activity levels, diseases, family medical history, smoking, alcohol intake and dietary habits. Furthermore, lung functions, blood parameters and cardiovascular health were evaluated. Our results showed that body weight and body fat percentage were significantly higher in retired footballers who had a sedentary lifestyle compared to those who were physically active. The absolute and predicted values for forced expiratory volume in one-second values were higher in the active group. Twelve retired athletes were found to have intraventricular conduction delay. The findings suggest that former footballers who have higher levels of physical activity have advanced body composition, respiratory functions and serum lipids compared to former footballers with less active lifestyles. It is recommended that former elite athletes should maintain physically active lifestyles to sustain their health and reduce the risk of disease and disability in the later years of life.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
An De Meester ◽  
Greet Cardon ◽  
Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij ◽  
Leen Haerens

Purpose:The goals were to investigate whether extracurricular school-based sports reach students not engaging in community sports and whether extracurricular school-based sports participants are more physically active and/or autonomously motivated toward sports than nonparticipants.Method:1526 students (48.0% boys; 85.9% Belgian natives; age = 15.34 ± 1.83y) completed validated questionnaires to assess sports participation, physical activity (PA) and sports-motivation. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted.Results:Only 28.7% of all students (n = 438), and 19.7% of students not engaging in community sports (n = 123), participated in extracurricular school-based sports. Participants were significantly more physically active [β=44.19, S.E.=17.34, χ2(1)=6.50, p = .01] and autonomously motivated [β=.18, S.E.=.04, χ2(1)=25.62, p < .001] than nonparticipants, even after controlling for community sports participation. Boys were more physically active and autonomously motivated than girls (p < .001).Conclusion:As participation is linked to higher PA-levels and autonomous motivation, increasing overall participation rates may contribute to children developing a more physically active lifestyle and achieving the PA guidelines.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 3026-3036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel M Hall-McMaster ◽  
Gareth J Treharne ◽  
Catherine M Smith

People with multiple sclerosis experience barriers to physical activity. Thought processes are interwoven with garnering motivation to overcome these barriers. This study investigated in-depth the role of positive thinking in physical activity motivation of two women and two men with multiple sclerosis. Participants thought aloud while completing standardised measures of physical activity, stages of change and self-efficacy, and in response to planned and spontaneous questions. Four themes were formulated using inductive thematic analysis: thoughts about purpose, self-efficacy, the past and reinforcement through positive thinking. These findings have implications for physical activity theories and delivering appropriate physical activity interventions to the multiple sclerosis community.


10.2196/17581 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e17581
Author(s):  
Matthew T Stewart ◽  
Taylor Nezich ◽  
Joyce M Lee ◽  
Rebecca E Hasson ◽  
Natalie Colabianchi

Background The relationship between intention and behavior has been well researched, but most studies fail to capture dynamic, time-varying contextual factors. Ecological momentary assessment through mobile phone technology is an innovative method for collecting data in real time, including time-use data. However, only a limited number of studies have examined day-level plans to be physically active and subsequent physical activity behavior using real-time time-use data to better understand this relationship. Objective This study aims to examine whether plans to be physically active (recorded in advance on an electronic calendar) were associated with objectively assessed physical activity (accelerometry), to identify activities that replaced planned periods of physical activity by using the mobile app Life in a Day (LIAD), and to test the feasibility and acceptability of LIAD for collecting real-time time-use data. Methods The study included 48 university students who were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 protocols, which were defined by 1, 3, or 5 days of data collection. Participants were asked to record their planned activities on a Google Calendar and were provided with mobile phones with LIAD to complete time-use entries in real time for a set of categories (eg, exercise or sports, eating or cooking, school, or personal care). Participants were instructed to wear an accelerometer on their nondominant wrist during the protocol period. A total of 144 days of protocol data were collected from the 48 participants. Results Protocol data for 123 days were eligible for analysis. A Fisher exact test showed a statistically significant association between plans and physical activity behavior (P=.02). The congruence between plans and behavior was fair (Cohen κ=0.220; 95% CI 0.028-0.411). Most participants did not plan to be active, which occurred on 75.6% (93/123) of days. Of these 93 days, no physical activity occurred on 76 (81.7%) days, whereas some physical activity occurred on 17 (18.3%) days. On the remaining 24.4% (30/123) of days, some physical activity was planned. Of these 30 days, no physical activity occurred on 18 (60%) days, whereas some physical activity occurred on 12 (40%) days. LIAD data indicated that activities related to screen time most often replaced planned physical activity, whereas unplanned physical activity was often related to active transport. Feasibility analyses indicated little difficulty in using LIAD, and there were no significant differences in feasibility by protocol length. Conclusions Consistent with previous literature, physical activity plans and physical activity behaviors were linked, but not strongly linked. LIAD offers insight into the relationship between plans and behavior, highlighting the importance of active transport for physical activity and the influence of screen-related behaviors on insufficient physical activity. LIAD is a feasible and practical method for collecting time-use data in real time.


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