Exercisers' perceptions of their fitness instructor's interacting style, perceived competence, and autonomy as a function of self-determined regulation to exercise, enjoyment, affect, and exercise frequency

Puente, R. & Anshel, M. H. (2010). Exercisers' perceptions of their fitness instructor's interacting style, perceived competence, and autonomy as a function of self-determined regulation to exercise, enjoyment, affect, and exercise frequency. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 38–45.
The primary purpose of the present investigation was to test the hypothesis, derived from Self-Determination Theory (SDT), that an individual's perceived competence and autonomy mediate the relationship between the exercisers' perception of their instructor's interaction style and the exercisers' motivation to exercise. A secondary purpose was to identify the affective and behavioral outcomes derived from self-determined regulation. It was hypothesized that SDT would significantly explain and predict exercise behavior. Participants consisted of 238 college students, 103 males and 135 females ( M age = 20.4 years, SD = 2.16), who volunteered to participate in the study. They were asked to complete a battery of questionnaires measuring instructor's interacting style, self-regulation to exercise, perceived autonomy and competence, enjoyment, positive and negative affect, and exercise frequency. Using structural equation modeling with observed variables, the results showed that perceived competence and autonomy mediated the relationship between perceived instructor's interacting style and self-determined regulation. It was also found that self-determined regulation was significantly related to exercise enjoyment, positive affect, and exercise frequency. It was concluded that understanding the motivational factors and emotional and behavioral consequences of physical activity will partially explain an individual's motives to engage regularly in exercise.     

Emphasizing appearance versus health outcomes in exercise: The influence of the instructor and participants’ reasons for exercise

The objectifying nature of exercise environments may prevent women from reaping psychological benefits of exercise. The present experiment manipulated self-objectification through an exercise class taught by an instructor who emphasized exercise as either a means of acquiring appearance or health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to test for interactions between the class emphasis and participants’ reasons for exercise (i.e., appearance, health) predicting participants’ state self-objectification, state social physique anxiety, exercise class enjoyment, and future intentions of returning to a similar exercise class. Results, obtained via pre- and post-exercise questionnaires, revealed a significant interaction between class emphasis and health reasons for exercise predicting state self-objectification. Participants with lower health reasons for exercise reported greater state self-objectification in the appearance-focused class compared to those with higher health reasons for exercise. Adopting stronger health reasons for exercise may buffer exercise participants from the more objectifying aspects of the group exercise environment.     

Effects of sex composition by class and instructor's sex on physical self-efficacy of college men

The relationship of sex composition of class and instructor's sex to Physical Self-efficacy has yielded conflicting results in several studies. This study examined the relationship of sex composition of class and instructor's sex to scores on Physical Self-efficacy, Perceived Physical Ability, and Physical Self-presentation Confidence of 80 male students enrolled in one of four sections of a strength training class. Analysis indicated no significant difference on Physical Self-efficacy between male students who were enrolled in all male classes or in coeducational classes; improvements in scores on Physical Self-efficacy were not specific to the sex composition of the class or sex of the instructor and no significant difference on Perceived Physical Ability and Physical Self-presentation Confidence between male students who joined an all male class or a coeducational class. Perceived Physical Ability improved from the pretest to the posttest in all classes; and no improvement in scores for Physical Self-presentation Confidence was found in all classes. In conclusion, the analysis showed sex composition of the class and sex of the instructor were not significantly related to scores for self-efficacy.     

Students' ratings of teaching effectiveness: a laughing matter?

Gump in 2004 identified a positive significant relationship between awareness of daily class objectives and ratings of the instructor's overall teaching effectiveness. The idea that rating of teaching effectiveness can be related to other non-teaching related attributes of the lecturer was further examined. Correlations based on ratings of teaching effectiveness from 453 undergraduate students (M=21 yr., SD= 5.5; 73% women) showed that another nonteaching related variable, namely, how funny the instructor was perceived, was significantly related to indicators of teaching effectiveness.     

The Relationship Between Enjoyment and Affective Responses to Exercise

Exercise-related affective changes are well documented across a variety of settings and populations. In addition to the stimulus properties of exercise itself, social environmental factors are thought to influence affective responses. One factor that may be associated with psychological responses to exercise is enjoyment. Individuals who enjoy exercise may exhibit more positive affective responses compared to those who enjoy exercise less. The purpose of this study was to examine whether exercise enjoyment was related to affective changes associated with an acute bout of exercise in a naturalistic setting. Study 1 used a categorical approach to assess affect and sampled college-aged female group fitness participants. Study 2 was based on a dimensional affect conceptualization and sampled corporate fitness participants. Across both studies, results revealed a significant decrease in negative affect and increase in positive affect following exercise. Enjoyment was positively related to increases in positive affect but unrelated to changes in negative affect.     

Objectification in Fitness Centers: Self-Objectification, Body Dissatisfaction, and Disordered Eating in Aerobic Instructors and Aerobic Participants

This study was designed to investigate self-objectification, its theoretical consequences, and its relationship to reasons for exercise within a fitness center environment. Sixty female aerobic instructors and 97 female aerobic participants, who ranged in age from 18 to 45 years, completed questionnaire measures of self-objectification, reasons for exercise, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating. Increased self-objectification (and self-surveillance) was related to disordered eating symptomatology, body dissatisfaction, and appearance-related reasons for exercise. Aerobic instructors scored significantly lower on self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating than did aerobic participants, and they exercised more for enjoyment and less for appearance-related reasons. For aerobic participants, location of exercise (inside or outside the fitness center) moderated the relationship between frequency of exercise and self-objectification, such that exercising within fitness centers was associated with relatively higher self-objectification. Higher levels of self-objectification were also related to wearing tighter exercise clothing. These results support the general model of Objectification Theory, and provide practical implications for women who exercise within objectifying environments.     

The effects of physique-salient and physique non-salient exercise videos on women's body image, self-presentational concerns, and exercise motivation

This experiment examined the effects of exposure to physique-salient (PS) and physique non-salient (PNS) exercise videos and the moderating influence of perceived physique discrepancies, on body image, self-presentational concerns, and exercise motivation. Eighty inactive women (M age = 26) exercised to a 30 min instructional exercise video. In the PS condition, the video instructor wore revealing attire that emphasized her thin and toned physique. In the PNS condition, she wore attire that concealed her physique. Participants completed pre- and post-exercise measures of body image, social physique anxiety (SPA) and self-presentational efficacy (SPE) and a post-exercise measure of exercise motivation and perceived discrepancies with the instructor's body. No main or moderated effects emerged for video condition. However, greater perceived negative discrepancies were associated with poorer post-exercise body satisfaction and body evaluations, and higher state SPA. There were no effects on SPE or motivation. Results suggest that exercise videos that elicit perceived negative discrepancies can be detrimental to women's body images.     

Touching as Teaching: The Effect of Touch on Students' Perceptions and Performance

The effect of instructor touch on students' ratings of the instructor and students' performance in the classroom was investigated. A total of 171 male and female college students participated in individual conferences with their instructors following the first examination in the course. Half were touched by their instructors during the conference; the other half were not. Students then evaluated the instructor, the instructor's teaching effectiveness, and the utility of the conference. Analysis of results revealed that students who were touched during the conference gave their instructors significantly higher ratings than those who were not touched. In addition, students in the touched condition showed superior performance on the next course examination, scoring .58 standard deviations higher on the examination compared to the untouched students. The authors conclude that touching, when conducted in a conference situation to help students improve class performance, can be a highly effective teaching tool.     

Dissimilarity and attraction: when difference makes a difference.

Students in 93 university classes described themselves and their instructors on personality tests measuring traits relevant (ascendancy and personal relations) and irrelevant (sociability and cautiousness) to teaching skill. Dissimilarity (instructor being higher than student) on relevant trait dimensions was hypothesized to be instrumental for student satisfaction with an instructor's role performance. When students were classified as similar or dissimilar to their instructors on the personality dimensions, those most attracted to their instructors were those dissimilar on relevant (but not irrelevant) traits. The dissimilarity finding was not an artifact of differences in skill of instructor nor of differences in students' perceptions of their instructors' traits. A three-dimensional system was devised to specify when similarity and dissimilarity should promote attraction.     

Social environmental factors and psychological responses to acute exercise for socially physique anxious females

ObjectivesThis study examined whether social-environmental factors influenced the psychological responses to participation in a single session of group fitness exercise for females with heightened body image concerns.Design/MethodsSocially physique anxious female college age students participated in this study (N=99). A randomized 2×2 factorial design was used to examine the effect of leadership style (health versus appearance oriented) and mirrors (present or absent) on affective responses, enjoyment, self-efficacy, and future intentions.ResultsANCOVA revealed that participants in the health oriented class reported more positive affective experiences than those in the appearance oriented classes with effect sizes (ES) ranging from .47 to .61. They also enjoyed exercise more (ES=.40) and reported being more likely to join a similar class in the future (ES=.69). Mirrors did not influence psychological responses by themselves or in conjunction with leadership style.ConclusionsExercise leader behavior influences the quality of the exercise experience for individuals with social physique anxiety by creating a health or appearance oriented class atmosphere.     

An investigation of psychosocial factors related to changes in physical activity and fitness among female adolescents

Research examined the effects of a supervised physical activity program on potential psychosocial mediators and determined whether changes in these psychosocial variables predicted changes in physical activity and fitness. Sedentary adolescent females were assigned to an intervention (n?=?79) or comparison (n?=?67) group. Cardiovascular fitness (cycle ergometer), physical activity (3-Day Physical Activity Recall), and psychosocial variables related to physical activity (i.e., self-efficacy, perceived barriers, social support, enjoyment) were assessed at three time points over the 9-month study. An intention-to-treat analysis showed that the intervention did not impact any of the psychosocial variables, with the exception of perceived barriers, which increased in the intervention group. Longitudinal analyses showed that improvements in fitness were associated with positive changes in global self-efficacy and exercise enjoyment. Psychosocial variables did not mediate the program's effects on fitness or activity. However, individual level changes in psychosocial variables were related to changes in cardiovascular fitness.     

The effects of leadership style and exercise program choreography on enjoyment and intentions to exercise

ObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to examine the independent (main) and interactive effects of leadership style and exercise program choreography on the enjoyment and future exercise intentions of novice female exercisers.DesignA randomized 2 (leadership style)×2 (exercise choreography) factorial in which a manipulation of leadership style (instructionally and motivationally enriched vs. bland) was crossed with a manipulation of exercise choreography style consisting of either a restricted or a varied set of exercises.MethodsNovice female exercisers (N=75) completed measures of exercise enjoyment and intentions to engage in future step aerobics classes following a 40-minute introductory session of step aerobics.ResultsSignificant (p<0.05) main effects were detected for leadership style and exercise choreography on enjoyment. Socially enriched leadership and varied choreography were associated with greater enjoyment. There were no main or interaction effects for exercise intention.ConclusionsResults show that social and structural factors impact on positive psychological outcomes in a structured exercise setting. Practitioners are encouraged to use these and previous findings to plan introductory exercise sessions. Future research should look at the impact of leadership style, choreography, and class group dynamics on behavioral manifestations such as adherence.     

Motives for participation in physical activity by Brazilian adults

The present investigation examined the validity and reliability of a questionnaire which assessed motives of Brazilian adults for participation in physical activities, compared motives for participation in walking and fitness programs, and examined differences by sex, age, and education. Participants were 100 men and 138 women, ages 16 to 60 years (M=30.5, SD=11.4). Factor analysis identified four factors which were fairly consistent with previous research. Improvement in physical appearance and enjoyment were rated significantly more important reasons for participants in fitness programs than for walkers. Men were more motivated by social experience than women. Young adults rated importance lower in health and fitness and rated enjoyment, social experience, and improvement in appearance of higher importance. Health and fitness were considered more important by participants with more education. These results are consistent with previous research on the factors underlying motives for regular exercise and support the importance of considering differences associated with culture.     

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Implementation Intentions Increase Exercise Enjoyment and Long-Term Exercise Behavior Among Low-Active Women

The current study evaluated the long-term effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for promoting exercise behavior in comparison with planning in the form of implementation intentions (forming situational cues and action plans as to when, where, and how to incorporate exercise). We expected both interventions to increase exercise behavior (assessed using the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire; Godin and Shephard 1985) from baseline to 6-months post-intervention, but expected only ACT to also increase exercise enjoyment (assessed using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale; Kendzierski and DeCarlo 1991). A total of 32 women, randomized to receive a single session of either ACT training or instructions to form implementation intentions for exercise activities, took part in this study. The participants were contacted by email 6-months following the intervention to determine the amount of self-reported exercise. As expected, exercise amount increased in both groups. Contrary to our expectations, both groups also increased in exercise enjoyment. This study provides initial evidence that exercising can be increased through an ACT intervention. ACT and implementation intentions may both be effective and brief interventions for promoting exercise behavior and exercise-related enjoyment in low-active women. Future research needs to establish the psychosocial and personality factors that lead to the effectiveness of ACT and implementation intentions.     

Preferred body type of fitness instructors among university students in exercise classes

This study examined the relationship between participants' physique anxiety, eating behaviors, somatotype, and the preferred qualifications and body type of a fitness instructor. Subjects were 171 students attending fitness classes at a university. Analysis indicated that the women preferred a thinner fitness instructor than men and that enthusiasm, motivation, and being physically fit were considered the most important characteristics overall. No significant racial differences in key variables were found.     

Self-efficacy in mastery learning to apply a therapeutic psychomotor skill

This study assessed changes in Self-efficacy scores produced by each of the four steps of instruction used to teach students a therapeutic psychomotor skill used by osteopathic physicians. Volunteering subjects were an entire class of 83 first-year osteopathic medical students (40 men, 43 women, M age = 25.1 yr.). Self-reported Self-efficacy to perform the skill was sampled: (1) after an instructor's demonstration of the skill during a laboratory session, (2) after paired students practiced during the laboratory session, (3) after independent self-paced practice outside class using an instructional handout and videotape, and (4) after receiving individualized feedback on skill performance from an instructor acting as the "patient." The first two steps, representing typical skill instruction, produced mean Self-efficacy scores of 18% and 30%, respectively. On the last two steps, added to implement mastery learning, mean Self-efficacy scores increased to 75% and 85%, respectively. The instructors confirmed that all students mastered performance of the skill. Mastery learning was effective in developing both the therapeutic skill and high Self-efficacy to utilize the skill.     

Relations among exercise type,self-objectification,and body image in the fitness centre environment: The role of reasons for exercise

ObjectiveThe study aimed to investigate different types of exercise, the role of exercise motivation and body image outcomes within the fitness centre environment.Design and methodParticipants were 571 female fitness class participants recruited from fitness centres. They ranged in age from 18 to 71 years and participated in a variety of fitness activities both within and outside of the fitness centre environment. Reasons for exercise, self-objectification, body esteem, and disordered eating symptomatology were assessed using questionnaire measures.ResultsTime spent exercising within the fitness centre environment was more highly related to body image and eating disturbance than time spent exercising outside of the fitness centre environment. Participation in cardio-based workouts (e.g., cardiovascular machines) was positively related to self-objectification, disordered eating behaviour, and appearance-related reasons for exercise, and negatively related to body esteem. In contrast, participation in yoga-based fitness classes was related to lower self-objectification and exercising more for health and fitness. Appearance-focused reasons for exercise were found to mediate the relationship between exercise types and self-objectification, disordered eating, and body esteem.ConclusionThe results show that the reasons women have for doing exercise provide a mechanism through which different types of exercise are associated with negative body image outcomes. Thus, despite the physical health-related benefits associated with regular physical activity, exercise motivated by appearance reasons (e.g., weight control) can lead to poorer body image in some women.     

The effects of leader gender on self-presentational concerns in exercise

The present study examined the impact of the exercise leader's gender on the self-presentational concerns of women in a live exercise class. Eighty-seven college-aged non- or infrequent exercisers participated in a group exercise class led by either a female or male instructor. Participants completed measures of Self-Presentational Efficacy (SPE), State Social Anxiety (SSA) and State Social Physique Anxiety (SPA-S) prior to and following completion of a group exercise class. A repeated measures Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), with time as the within-subjects factor and leader gender as the between-subjects factor, was conducted. A significant main effect for time was found (F(3, 80) = 19.65, p < 0.001). Estimated marginal means indicated that all participants reported significantly higher SPE and lower SSA and SPA-S post-exercise. Completing an exercise class may override any self-presentational concerns that can arise from the exercise environment. Future studies should adopt ecologically valid research designs to gain a clearer picture of self-presentational concerns in exercise classes.     

Operant learning principles applied to teaching introductory statistics

A grade of A was given in an introductory statistics course for meeting a set of contingencies that included no work outside of class (except by request), near-perfect performance on exams following each unit of work in a programmed text, correction of all exam errors, self pacing of work, and the chance to finish the course early. A grade of incomplete was given otherwise. Correlations among performance measures failed to show any meaningful relationships between time taken to finish the course, errors made on exams, and errors made in the programmed text. Responses to a five-part questionnaire were overwhelmingly favorable to the course, but did not vary as a function of grade point average, time taken to finish the course, or number of errors made on exams. The uniformly high level of performance, the students' lack of interest in social contact with the instructor during class, and the absence of drop-outs are all attributed to the contingencies employed, chief among which, according to the instructor's judgment and student rankings, were self-pacing, frequent non-punitive exams and a guaranteed grade of A for near-perfect work at every stage.