Age and Activity-Level Differences in the Use of Exercise Imagery

The purposes of this study were to assess age, gender, and activity level differences in the use of exercise imagery. The participants included 401 individuals between the ages of 18 to 65 (M = 38.75, SD = 13.75) who completed demographic assessments, a measure of leisure time exercise (Godin & Shephard, 1985 Godin, G. and Shephard, R. J. 1985. A simple method to assess exercise behavior in the community. Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Science, 10: 141–146. [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]), and the Exercise Imagery Inventory (Giacobbi, Hausenblas, & Penfield, 2005 Giacobbi, P. R. Jr., Hausenblas, H. A. and Penfield, R. 2005. Further developments in the measurement of exercise imagery: The exercise imagery inventory. Measurement in Physical Education and the Exercise Sciences, 9(4): 251–266. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). The results indicated that active individuals used appearance/health imagery significantly more than those who were less active while a significant age by activity level interaction was also observed. Pairwise comparisons revealed that 18- to 25-yars olds who were more active reported significantly greater use of exercise technique than 45- to 65-year old individuals within the same activity level classification. A significant gender-by-age interaction also revealed that 18- to 25-year-old males reported significantly greater use of technique imagery than 45- to 65-year old males. Theoretical and practical issues in the study of mental imagery within exercise settings are discussed.