This study was designed to examine the audience-pleasing and self-constructional aspects of self-presentation on perceived exertion. Subjects performed two 18-min sessions on a cycle ergometer at light, moderate, and heavy workloads, during which perceived exertion and heart rate were collected. Each subject participated in a male and female experimenter condition. Males reported significantly lower perceived exertion in the female experimenter condition at the heavy load, compared to the same load in the male experimenter condition. There were no other significant differences for males or females at any of the workloads in either condition. Responses on the Self-Monitoring Inventory were used to assign subjects to either a high or low self-construction group. Results indicated that high self-constructors recorded significantly lower perceived exertion, compared to low self-constructors, at the low and moderate workloads.
