Repeated exercise class attendance: The role of class members' similarity and social identification |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia;1. Faculty of Physical Education and Sport (ULHT), Lusófona University, Lisbon, Portugal;2. Research Center in Sport, Physical Education, and Exercise and Health (CIDEFES), Lisbon, Portugal;3. Department of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, United States;4. Research Center in Sport Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), Vila Real, Portugal;5. ESECS - Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal;6. Research Center in Quality of Life (CIEQV), Santarém, Portugal;7. Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior, Polytechnic of Santarém (ESDRM-IPSantarém), Rio Maior, Portugal;1. Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, Boston University, USA;2. College of Education, Florida State University, USA;3. Faculty of Sport Science and Physical Education, University of Coimbra, Portugal;4. Centro Universitário Hermínio Ometto, Brazil;1. Institute of Health and Sport (IHES), Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia;2. Australian Institute of Sport, Belconnen, ACT, Australia;3. School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia;4. School of Health Studies, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA;1. University of Birmingham, UK;2. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece;3. Canterbury Christ Church University, UK;4. California State University, Fresno, USA;5. Sapienza University of Rome, Italy |
| |
| Abstract: | Understanding the malleable factors that underpin people’s ongoing commitment to specific forms of exercise is crucial to facilitate more effective efforts to improve participation rates. To this end, we examined the role of (a) perceiving the members of one’s exercise class to be similar to each other on various dimensions, and (b) possessing a strong social identity as an exercise class member in shaping one’s future participation in that class. During a 3-week intensive sampling period, 779 unique responses were obtained from 278 attendees (who were invited to complete a questionnaire on each occasion they attended an exercise class). On each questionnaire, participants indicated their perceptions of class members’ similarity and their own social identification in relation to the exercise class they had just participated in. Participation was conceptualised as attendance at the same class (i.e., same time and type) the following week and was measured objectively using the fitness facility’s electronic class attendance records. Linear multilevel models showed that participants identified more strongly as members of exercise classes in which they perceived that their fellow attendees were similar to each other: both in general, and in terms of age, physical fitness, and their attitude towards the class. Participants also tended to be more likely to attend a given exercise class the following week to the extent that they reported a strong sense of social identification as a member of that class. These relationships were replicated in a multilevel mediation model, which revealed a significant indirect effect of similarity on class attendance through social identification. Results point to the role that social identification can play in promoting repeated exercise participation and indicate that one way to facilitate exercisers’ greater social identification might be to purposefully create exercise classes and groups comprised of relatively homogenous individuals. |
| |
| Keywords: | Social identity Participation Physical activity Homogeneity |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
