Predictable Mispredictions in the Context of Physical Activity and Sport: A Review

Theoretical models and research that aim to identify antecedents of participation in physical activities or sport can measure antecedents of physical activity behaviour through instruments that involve subjective predictions. In this article, we argue that such instruments may not reflect physical activity experiences or behaviour accurately because people are not very good predictors of future states. Additionally, we propose that mispredictions may be predictable because they are “caused” by tendencies to neglect processes related to hedonic adaptation and competing alternatives. We also suggest that it may be possible to improve measurement of antecedents through methods that focus respondents' attention on factors that cause mispredictions or through experiential sampling methods.     

Factor analysis of the responses of British University students to the Fear Survey Schedule (FSS-III)

An 88-item version of the Fear Survey Schedule-III (Wolpe, 1973) was administered to 547 students from Bedford College (University of London) and the scores were factor analysed. Four main factors were identified, relating to fear of social inadequacy, tissue damage, travel and animals. The relative importance of the factors is compared with that found in other studies: fears of social inadequacy and of tissue damage are generally found amongst the major factors, although their relative order may be reversed. The order of the fear ratings of 72 of the items is found to correlate highly with that found in Natal Indians. The scores on some of the items and the total fear scores are higher in females than males and possible explanations of this findings are discussed.     

Seek,and You Will Find: The Influence of Expectations on Evaluations of Physical Activity

Despite hundreds of studies on the effects of expectations on evaluations, few commentaries have focused on summarising the relevance of these findings for physical activity pursuits. Moreover, a parsimonious framework on the nature of these relationships in physical activity is yet to be developed. Such a framework is important given the significance of physical activity evaluations in predicting future physical activity participation. Based on existing models on persuasion, it is premised that the self can be persuaded by one's own expectations about physical activity and that such persuasion can support or refute those expectations. Which of these effects are created, and the extent of one's psychological and physical involvement in the creation of physical activity evaluations, is likely to hinge on motivation and ability to confirm or disconfirm expectations. Evidence from related bodies of literature is presented to support the primary tenets of the model, which is termed the expectation‐to‐evaluation model, and recommendations for practitioners and future research are offered.     

Orienting responses to pleasant stimuli when expecting pleasant or unpleasant events

The aim was to investigate further the effect of more vigorous orienting to stimuli denoting common fears than to neutral stimuli in subjects threatened with shock. In two experiments, orienting responses (ORs) to pleasant and to neutral words were compared. In Experiment I, the subjects were expecting shock and, in Experiment II, pleasant music. In neither experiment were there differences either in the magnitudes or in the habituation rates of the electrodermal ORs. For clarification, there should be control both of the subjective salience of the stimuli and also of the level of expectation.     

Orienting responses to pleasant stimuli when expecting pleasant or unpleasant events

The aim was to investigate further the effect of more vigorous orienting to stimuli denoting common fears than to neutral stimuli in subjects threatened with shock. In two experiments, orienting responses (ORs) to pleasant and to neutral words were compared. In Experiment I, the subjects were expecting shock and, in Experiment II, pleasant music. In neither experiment were there differences either in the magnitudes or in the habituation rates of the electrodermal ORs. For clarification, there should be control both of the subjective salience of the stimuli and also of the level of expectation.