Assessing motivational readiness and decision making for exercise.

Investigated motivational and cognitive processes of behavior change in the area of exercise adoption. A total of 778 men and women, recruited from 4 worksites, answered a 40-item questionnaire based on constructs from the transtheoretical model of behavior change. Principal-components analysis identified 2 factors: avoidance of exercise (Cons) and positive perceptions of exercise (Pros). ANOVA showed that the Pros, Cons, and a Decisional Balance measure (Pros minus Cons) were significantly associated with stage of exercise adoption. Results are consistent with applications of the model to smoking cessation and other areas of behavior change. Distinctions between exercise adoption and behaviors such as smoking cessation, weight loss, and alcoholism are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is the sequencing of change processes by stage consistent across health problems? A meta-analysis.

Clinicians and researchers applying the transtheoretical model (J. O. Prochaska, C.C. DiClemente, & J.C. Norcross, 1992) to health promotion often assume that relationships of processes and stages observed in smoking cessation can be generalized to other problems. A reanalysis of 47 cross-sectional studies determined that use of change processes varies by stage, but the sequencing of processes is not consistent across health problems. In smoking cessation, cognitive processes were used in earlier stages than were behavioral processes. In exercise adoption and diet change, use of behavioral and cognitive processes increased together. Results for substance abuse and psychotherapy were less consistent. Substituting new behaviors, making a commitment, considering consequences, seeking information, controlling cues, and using rewards varied most by stage. Future longitudinal studies should assess these processes as potential mediators of lifestyle change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of obligatory exercise by exercise-related imagery.

Obligatory exercise is a compulsive behavior pattern in which exercise dominates daily life at the expense of other activities and lack of exercise produces withdrawal symptoms. This study examined the hypothesis that obligatory exercise is motivated similarly to eating disorders (cf. S. P. Coen & B. M. Ogles, 1993) and would be predicted by appearance-related imagery. Obligatory exercise (J. K. Thompson & L. Pasman, 1991) and exercise imagery (H. A. Hausenblas, C. R. Hall, W. M. Rodgers, & K. J. Munroe, 199) were assessed before and after a 10-week exercise program in 243 adult exercises. Regression analyses revealed that imagery accounted for 20% of the variance in obligatory exercise. Appearance-related imagery did not predict significantly obligatory exercise. Energy-related imagery was the strongest predictor. Obligatory exercise may not be as associated with appearance-related concerns as eating disorders, suggesting different motivational bases for these 2 behavioral patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The stages and processes of exercise adoption and maintenance in a worksite sample.

Applied the model of the stages and processes (SPs) of change to exercise adoption and maintenance. Questionnaires dealing with the SPs of exercise change were developed and administered to 1,172 employees in a worksite health promotion project. Ss were split randomly into halves for (1) initial model development and testing and (2) confirmatory measurement model testing. Additional model confirmation was obtained by examining the hierarchical structure of the processes of change and by conducting stage and process analyses. Results suggest that the underlying constructs derived from smoking cessation and other addictive behaviors can be generalized to exercise behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of calcium intake patterns: A longitudinal analysis.

Objective: The study was guided by the precaution adoption process model; the author examined factors associated with (a) stage of change with respect to calcium intake at 4 time points and (b) calcium intake patterns across time. Design: Data were collected by mailed questionnaire at baseline and at 3 follow-up assessments over 1 year. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measures were calcium intake, stage of change with respect to calcium intake, and pattern of calcium intake across follow-up. Three patterns were identified: successful maintenance (adequate calcium intake at all 3 follow-ups), vacillation (adequate calcium consumption at 1 or 2 follow-ups), and inertia (inadequate calcium consumption at all 3 follow-ups). Results: Five hundred six women completed baseline questionnaires, and 346 completed 3 follow-up assessments. Even after baseline stage of change was controlled for, longitudinal analyses revealed 3 variables that predicted different patterns of behavior across time. Isolated instances of adequate calcium intake were predicted by higher levels of knowledge and perceived benefits, whereas long-term maintenance was predicted by lower levels of perceived difficulty. Conclusion: These findings provide support for a central premise of the model, that different factors are important at different points in the behavior change process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes, knowledge, and stages of change: A survey of exercise patterns in older Australian women.

Describes a telephone survey of attitudes and behavior relevant to exercise adoption among 286 Australian women (aged 50–64 yrs). Stages of change identified by the transtheoretical model of behavior change were related to attitudes, knowledge, and demographic variables. In comparison with exercisers, precontemplators were older, had lower exercise knowledge, perceived lower levels of family support for exercise, expected fewer psychological benefits from exercise, and rated exercise as less important than avoiding smoking. The main significant difference between contemplators and those in the action or maintenance stage involved the perception of practical barriers. Despite the limitations of this cross-sectional self-report study, it identifies attitudes and knowledge as potential targets for intervention with middle-aged women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospective evaluation of the effects of stress on exercise adherence in community-residing women.

The effects of stress on exercise behavior in community-residing women exercising on their own were assessed. Participants (N?=?82) completed a background questionnaire and kept exercise diaries and Weekly Stress Inventories (P. J. Brantley, G. N. Jones, E. Boudreax, & S. L. Catz, 1997) for 8 consecutive weeks. During weeks with a high frequency of stressful events, participants exercised for less time and reported lower self-efficacy for meeting upcoming exercise goals. During weeks of high perceived stress, participants exercised significantly fewer days, omitted more planned exercise sessions, were less satisfied with their exercise, and had lower self-efficacy for meeting exercise goals. Findings suggest that perceptions of stressful events and cognitive reactions to missed exercise may play a significant role in mediating exercise behavior and support the view of exercise relapse as an ongoing process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of blood lactate accumulation from excess CO2 output during constant exercise

To determine the predictability of blood lactate accumulation from excess CO2 output derived from bicarbonate buffering of lactic acid during constant exercise, eight normal active volunteers were studied during three stages of constant exercise on a cycle ergometer. Three work rates consisted of 100% (stage I), 120% (stage II) and 150% (stage III) of each subject's anaerobic threshold (AT), each of which was lasted for 4 min. Excess CO2 output (Ex CO2, ml) at each stage of constant exercise was estimated form the integral of difference between total VCO2 and aerobic VCO2 (from regression line for VCO2 and VO2 at exercise intensities below the AT obtained in incremental exercise test). Ex CO2 per body mass (Ex CO2-mass-1) was increased progressively with blood lactate (La) accumulation from rest to each stage of constant exercise. Mean values (+/-SD) in the measured La accumulation (delta La,measured) and predicted La accumulation (delta La,predicted) at three stages of constant exercise were 1.82 +/- 0.83 vs 3.19 +/- 1.70 for stage 1, 5.58 +/- 3.47 vs 7.09 +/- 3.28 for stage II and 12.19 +/- 2.36 vs 12.74 +/- 1.83 mmol.l-1 for stage III, respectively. There was a significant difference between delta La,measured and delta La,predicted at stage I (p < 0.05), but no significant differences between these two variables at stage II and III. The averaged difference from delta La,predicted to delta La,measured at stage III (0.55 mmol.l-1) showed a tendency to be smaller than stage I (1.38 mmol.l-1) and II (1.50 mmol.l-1). On the other hand, delta La,predicted was found to correlate very closely with delta La,measured (r = 0.954, P < 0.001, n = 20). The results of this study suggest that the changes of La accumulation could be predicted from excess CO2 output generated in constant exercises above the AT.     

Defensive evaluation of antismoking messages among college-age smokers: The role of possible selves.

This study hypothesized that individuals respond to antismoking messages in a biased or defensive manner. The authors operationalized the personal relevance of smoking variously as smoking behavior (smoking status, rate, duration, and recent attempts to quit), endorsement of the smoker stereotype, and importance of smoking behavior as an identity within the self-concept (current self and possible selves). In the experiment, smokers (n?=&82) and nonsmokers (n?=?105) privately viewed several antismoking video segments. Smoking status, current smoking identity, and long-term future smoking identity were significantly associated with a defensive evaluation of antismoking messages. The study concludes that the concept of possible selves (H. Markus & P. Nurius, 1986) is critical in understanding college-age smoking and in the design of effective antismoking campaigns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship among sex, imagery and exercise dependence symptoms.

There is limited research examining the physical (e.g., sex) and psychological correlates (e.g., imagery) of exercise dependence despite its harmful effects. The purposes of this study were to examine sex differences and the predictive validity of exercise imagery for exercise dependence symptoms. Participants were 408 university students who completed measures of exercise imagery, exercise behavior, and exercise dependence. The results indicated that men reported more exercise dependence symptoms than women. For the women, exercise behavior, appearance imagery, and energy imagery were positive predictors of exercise dependence symptoms. In contrast, for the men, exercise behavior and energy imagery positively predicted exercise dependence symptoms. Consistent with suggestions by C. Hall (1995), exercise imagery may be related to exercise dependence symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anticipated affective consequences of physical activity adoption and maintenance.

Objective: The expected emotional consequences of future actions are thought to play an important role in health behavior change. This research examined whether anticipated affective consequences of success and failure vary across stages of physical activity change and differentially predict physical activity adoption as compared to maintenance. Design: Using a prospective design over a 3-month period, a community sample of 329 healthy, middle-aged adults were assessed at 2 time points. Main Outcome Measures: Anticipated positive and negative emotions, stage of behavior change (precontemplation [PC], contemplation [C], preparation [P], action [A], maintenance [M]), and level of physical activity. Results: At baseline, anticipated positive emotions were greater in C versus PC, whereas anticipated negative emotions were greater in M versus A and in M versus P. Higher anticipated positive but not negative emotions predicted physical activity adoption and maintenance after 3 months. Conclusion: Although the expected affective consequences of future success and failure differentiated among individuals in the early and later stages of physical activity change, respectively; only the anticipated affective consequences of success predicted future behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological and cognitive outcomes of a randomized trial of exercise among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Exercise rehabilitation is recommended increasingly for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study examined the effect of exercise and education on 79 older adults (M age?=?66.6 ± 6.5 years; 53% female) with COPD, randomly assigned to 10 weeks of (a) exercise, education, and stress management (EXESM; n?=?29); (b) education and stress management (ESM; n?=?25); or (c) waiting list (WL; n?=?25). EXESM included 37 sessions of exercise, 16 educational lectures, and 10 weekly stress management classes. ESM included only the 16 lectures and 10 stress management classes. Before and after the intervention, assessments were conducted of physiological functioning (pulmonary function, exercise endurance), psychological well-being (depression, anxiety, quality of life), and cognitive functioning (attention, motor speed, mental efficiency, verbal processing). Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance indicated that EXESM participants experienced changes not observed among ESM and WL participants, including improved endurance, reduced anxiety, and improved cognitive performance (verbal fluency). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy-value constructs and expectancy violation as predictors of exercise adherence in previously sedentary women.

This prospective study examined effects of expectancy of exercise benefits, value of benefits, expectancy violation, and self-efficacy (SE) on exercise behavior and study dropout in sedentary women (n?=?86). SE predicted exercise for study completers but did not predict study dropout. After 6 and 12 weeks, participants evidenced expectancy violations, particularly for fitness and weight. Initial value, expectancy, and Expectancy?×? Value did not predict exercise for study completers, but dropouts had higher initial positive expectancies than did completers. Expectancy violations produced in Weeks 1–6 did not predict exercise in Weeks 7–12 in study completers, but dropouts in Weeks 7–12 had higher expectancy violations for weight in Weeks 1–6 than did completers. Follow-up revealed that study dropouts stopped exercising. Identifying individuals with high initial expectancies and expectancy violations may improve health behavior intervention and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The measure of stage of readiness to change: Some psychometric considerations.

Previous research in the smoking cessation literature has shown that the key component of the transtheoretical model of change, the stage of readiness to change, is a valid independent measure (C. C. DiClemente & J. O. Prochaska, 1985; C. C. DiClemente et al., 1991; W. F. Velicer, J. S. Rossi, J. O. Prochaska, & C. C. DiClemente, 1996). Recently, however, other health service researchers (e.g., A. J. Farkas et al., 1996b) have begun to question the utility of this model; especially its predictive validity (e.g., A. J. Farkas et al., 1996a). However, no research to date has examined the reliability and stability of the stage of readiness to change measure. In this study, the longitudinal measurement of stage of readiness to change was treated as a quasi-simplex model (K. G. J?reskog, 1970). Estimates of the stability and reliability for 261 female smokers in a general community sample were obtained. Results indicate that the stage of change measure has desirable psychometric properties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy challenge and drinking reduction: Process and structure in the alcohol expectancy network.

Expectancies' mediational (control) role in alcohol consumption has been supported by both correlational and experimental evidence (J. Darkes & M. S. Goldman, 1993; M. S. Goldman, P. E. Greenbaum, & J. Darkes, 1997; L. Roehrich & M. S. Goldman, 1995). This study assigned participants (n?=?54) to 1 of 2 expectancy challenges targeting the expectancy dimensions of either arousal or sociability identified by B. C. Rather and M. S. Goldman (1994), or to a no-treatment control, to examine the relationship of the structure and process of change in alcohol expectancies. Both challenges resulted in reduced consumption and expectancies immediately posttreatment and 6 weeks later after a short "booster" session. These results may reflect the lack of "discrete" expectancy structure and provide further support for the exploration of these methods as a possible prevention strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal-fetal disease information as a source of exercise motivation during pregnancy.

Objective: A Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) framework was used to examine whether information about the role of exercise in preventing maternal-fetal disease served as a meaningful source of exercise motivation. Design: Pregnant women (n = 208) were randomly assigned into one of three conditions: PMT, attention control, and noncontact control. Women in the PMT group read a brochure about the benefits of exercise during pregnancy incorporating the major components of PMT; perceived vulnerability (PV), perceived severity (PS), response efficacy (RE), and self-efficacy (SE). Participants in the attention-control condition read a brochure about diet. Following treatment, all participants completed measures of their beliefs toward maternal-fetal disease and exercise, goal intention (GI), and implementation intention (IMI). One week later, a measure of self-reported exercise behavior was collected. Main Outcome Measures: Main outcome measures were PMT variables (PV, PS, RE, and SE), GI, IMI, and follow-up physical activity. Results: Participants assigned to the PMT-present group reported significantly higher PS, RE, SE, GI, and increased exercise behavior. PS, RE, and SE predicted GI, GI predicted IMI, and IMI predicted exercise behavior. Conclusion: Information grounded in PMT is effective in influencing pregnant women’s beliefs and intentions as well as changing their initial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating the circumplexity of interpersonal traits and the manifestation of interpersonal traits in interpersonal trust.

Two studies assessed the goodness of fit of ideal, quasi-, and noncircumplex models of interpersonal traits. Study 1 (N?=?132) represents a secondary data analysis using J.S. Wiggins's (1979) original Interpersonal Adjectives Scales (IAS) and reported by J.S. Wiggins, J.H. Steiger, and L. Gaelick (1981). Study 2 (N?=?401) represents a primary data analysis using Wiggins's revised IAS (J.S. Wiggins, P. Trapnell, & N. Phillips, 1988). Results of both studies indicated that a quasi-circumplex model provided a better fit to the correlational data than did either ideal or noncircumplex models. Also, in Study 2, results for a subsample (n?=?113) indicated that an ideal circumplex model yielded a significant positive path coefficient from Nurturance to interpersonal trust (J.K. Rempel, J.G. Holmes, & M.P. Zanna, 1985) but not from Dominance to interpersonal trust, whereas a quasi-circumplex model yielded significant positive paths from both Dominance and Nurturance to interpersonal trust. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the road again: Predicting the job transfer decision.

This study used survey data collected from mobile employees (n?=?66) and their spouses over a 5-year span to link attitudes, behavioral intent, and behavior in a model of the individual job transfer decision. Results showed that willingness to relocate strongly predicted the decision to accept or reject a job transfer. In turn, willingness to relocate was reliably associated with key demographic, career attribute, and attitudinal variables. Not only do these results have important implications for organizations that regularly relocate employees, but they also provide another example of a work situation in which attitudes reliably predict behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Getting the message across: Age differences in the positive and negative framing of health care messages.

Although valenced health care messages influence impressions, memory, and behavior (Levin, Schneider, & Gaeth, 1998) and the processing of valenced information changes with age (Carstensen & Mikels, 2005), these 2 lines of research have thus far been disconnected. This study examined impressions of, and memory for, positively and negatively framed health care messages that were presented in pamphlets to 25 older adults and 24 younger adults. Older adults relative to younger adults rated positive pamphlets more informative than negative pamphlets and remembered a higher proportion of positive to negative messages. However, older adults misremembered negative messages to be positive. These findings demonstrate the age-related positivity effect in health care messages with promise as to the persuasive nature and lingering effects of positive messages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental evidence for stages of health behavior change: The precaution adoption process model applied to home radon testing.

Hypotheses generated by the precaution adoption process model, a stage model of health behavior, were tested in the context of home radon testing. The specific idea tested was that the barriers impeding progress toward protective action change from stage to stage. An intervention describing a high risk of radon problems in study area homes was designed to encourage homeowners in the model's undecided stage to decide to test, and a low-effort, how-to-test intervention was designed to encourage homeowners in the decided-to-act stage to order test kits. Interventions were delivered in a factorial design that created conditions matched or mismatched to the recipient's stage (N?=?1,897). Both movement to a stage closer to testing and purchase of radon test kits were assessed. As predicted, the risk treatment was relatively more effective in getting undecided people to decide to test than in getting decided-to-act people to order a test. Also supporting predictions, the low-effort intervention proved relatively more effective in getting decided-to-act people to order tests than in getting undecided people to decide to test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)