Adolescence provides a significant opportunity to influence attitudes toward activity. It has bee... more Adolescence provides a significant opportunity to influence attitudes toward activity. It has been proposed that affective responses are the first link in the hypothesized exercise intensity-affect-adherence chain. The aim of this study was to explore young low-active adolescents' affective responses to different exercise intensities using quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Participants completed 15 min of exercise at four exercise intensities: three set in relation to the participants' ventilatory threshold (above, at, and below) and one self-selected. Affective valence was measured before, during, and after exercise, and participants were interviewed about their responses. Patterns in affective responses in quantitative data support tenets of the dual-mode theory. Qualitative data were presented as four narrative stories, and dominant themes associated with affective responses were identified. Consideration of individual preferences in the prescription of exercise...
The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a six-week intervention that... more The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a six-week intervention that aimed to promote teachers' physical activity level during working hours. Thirty-eight teachers from three intervention schools (schools randomly assigned as intervention group) received intervention prompts: SMS messages, leaflets and posters promoting walking, and a pedometer. Fourteen teachers were from a control school (school randomly
ABSTRACT Introduction: Individuals have affective associations with behaviours. These association... more ABSTRACT Introduction: Individuals have affective associations with behaviours. These associations have been shown to play a central role in the decision making processes of adults and to influence their physical activity (PA) behaviour, but no research has explored this concept within an adolescent population. This paper describes two studies that examine affective association and PA behaviour in adolescents. Methods: Study 1: Adolescent males (n = 199) and females (n = 377) self-reported their current physical activity levels with the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (a validated 7-day recall instrument) and completed validated inventories to assess PA beliefs and attitudes and affective associations with PA. Study 2: Adolescent females (n = 27) wore a GENEActiv accelerometer for 7 consecutive days to measure PA (time in moderate-to-vigorous PA was recorded) and completed the affective associations inventory. Results: Study 1: More positive affective associations with PA significantly predicted greater physical activity behaviour (b = .159, t(529) = 3.144, p < .005, r2 = .27). Further, the relationships between beliefs and attitudes and PA were mediated through affective associations. Study 2: Affective associations significantly predicted time in moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (p < .05, r2 = .17). Discussion: Results from Study 1 support previous research conducted with adult populations and show that in adolescents, although beliefs and attitudes are associated with PA, this association is mediated by affective associations. The limitation in Study 1 of self-reported PA was addressed in Study 2: data from both studies support the relevance of considering affective associations in PA behaviour of adolescents. Interventions to modify or improve affective associations should support PA behaviour change initiatives.
Affect-regulated exercise to feel 'good' can be u... more Affect-regulated exercise to feel 'good' can be used to control exercise intensity amongst both active and sedentary individuals and should support exercise adherence. It is not known, however, whether affect-regulated exercise training can lead to physical health gains. The aim of this study was to examine if affect-regulated exercise to feel 'good' leads to improved fitness over the course of an 8-week training programme. A repeated measures design (pretest-posttest) with independent groups (training and control). 20 sedentary females completed a submaximal graded exercise test and were then allocated to either a training group or control group. The training group completed two supervised sessions and one unsupervised session per week for 8 weeks. Exercise intensity was affect-regulated to feel 'good'. Following the 8 weeks of training, both groups completed a second submaximal graded exercise test. Repeated measures analyses of variance indicated a significant increase in the time to reach ventilatory threshold in the training group (318 ± 23.7s) compared to control (248 ± 16.9s). Overall compliance to training was high (>92%). Participants in the training group exercised at intensities that would be classified as being in the lower range of the recommended guidelines (≈ 50% V˙O(2) max) for cardiovascular health. Affect-regulated exercise to feel 'good' can be used in a training programme to regulate exercise intensity. This approach led to a 19% increase in time to reach ventilatory threshold, which is indicative of improved fitness.
An experiment is reported which tests Fazey & Hardy's (1988) catastrophe model of... more An experiment is reported which tests Fazey & Hardy's (1988) catastrophe model of anxiety and performance. Eight experienced basketball players were required to perform a set shooting task, under conditions of high and low cognitive anxiety. On each of these occasions, physiological arousal was manipulated by means of physical work in such a way that subjects were tested with physiological arousal increasing and decreasing. Curve-fitting procedures followed by non-parametric tests of significance confirmed (p less than .002) Fazey & Hardy's hysteresis hypothesis: namely, that the polynomial curves for the increasing vs. decreasing arousal conditions would be horizontally displaced relative to each other in the high cognitive anxiety condition, but superimposed on top of one another in the low cognitive anxiety condition. Other non-parametric procedures showed that subjects' maximum performances were higher, their minimum performances lower, and their critical decrements in performance greater in the high cognitive anxiety condition than in the low cognitive anxiety condition. These results were taken as strong support for Fazey & Hardy's catastrophe model of anxiety and performance. The implications of the model for current theorizing on the anxiety-performance relationship are also discussed.
ABSTRACT Explored the relationship between cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, physiological arou... more ABSTRACT Explored the relationship between cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, physiological arousal, and Sargent jump performance. Data were collected in 2 experiments from a total of 32 basketball and volleyball players (mean age 21 yrs) to test 3 hypotheses: (1) somatic anxiety is positively related to Sargent jump performance while cognitive anxiety is not related to Sargent jump performance; (2) physiological arousal is also positively related to Sargent jump performance; and (3) physiological arousal is more strongly related to Sargent jump performance than somatic anxiety. Results support the 3 hypotheses, and indicate that for this task increased somatic anxiety positively affects height jumped, cognitive anxiety does not affect performance, increased physiological arousal positively affects height jumped, and physiological arousal is more strongly related to performance than somatic anxiety. (French, Spanish, German, & Italian abstracts) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, Jan 31, 2015
To test the safety, feasibility and effectiveness of reducing sitting time in stroke survivors. R... more To test the safety, feasibility and effectiveness of reducing sitting time in stroke survivors. Randomised controlled trial with attention-matched control and blinded assessments. Community PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-five stroke survivors (22 male, mean age 66.9 ± 12.7 years). Four counselling sessions over seven weeks with a message of 'sit less, move more' (intervention group) or 'calcium for bone health' (attention-matched control group). Safety (adverse events, increases in pain, spasticity or fatigue) and feasibility (adherence to trial protocol). Secondary measures included time spent sitting (including in prolonged bouts ≥30mins), standing, and stepping as measured by the thigh-worn activPAL3 activity monitor (7 days, 24hrs/day protocol) and time spent in physical activity of at least moderate intensity as measured by the actigraph GT3x+. The Multi-Media Activity Recall for Children and Adults (MARCA) was used to describe changes in use-of-time. Thirty-three partici...
The Borg 6-20 Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale (Borg, 1998) is commonly used to compleme... more The Borg 6-20 Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale (Borg, 1998) is commonly used to complement physio- logical markers of exercise intensity to aid the prescrip- tion of exercise. Evidence regarding the possible influ- ence of gender, habitual activity and differentiated feel- ings of exertion (overall exertion, RPEO; localised exer- tion, RPEL) on the strength of the relationship between the RPE and oxygen uptake (VO2) during both estimation and production tests is equivocal. Eston et al. (2005, 2006) found no significant differences between measured maxi- mal oxygen uptake (VO2max) from a graded exercise test (GXT) to volitional exhaustion and VO2max predicted from sub-maximal, perceptually-guided GXTs (self-regulated at RPEs 9, 11, 13, 15 & 17), in active men and women. However, previous research has not considered: a) the potential utility of sub-maximal, perceptually-guided GXTs with sedentary participants, where the clinical benefits of predicting VO2max from sub-maximal ...
Adolescence provides a significant opportunity to influence attitudes toward activity. It has bee... more Adolescence provides a significant opportunity to influence attitudes toward activity. It has been proposed that affective responses are the first link in the hypothesized exercise intensity-affect-adherence chain. The aim of this study was to explore young low-active adolescents' affective responses to different exercise intensities using quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Participants completed 15 min of exercise at four exercise intensities: three set in relation to the participants' ventilatory threshold (above, at, and below) and one self-selected. Affective valence was measured before, during, and after exercise, and participants were interviewed about their responses. Patterns in affective responses in quantitative data support tenets of the dual-mode theory. Qualitative data were presented as four narrative stories, and dominant themes associated with affective responses were identified. Consideration of individual preferences in the prescription of exercise...
The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a six-week intervention that... more The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a six-week intervention that aimed to promote teachers' physical activity level during working hours. Thirty-eight teachers from three intervention schools (schools randomly assigned as intervention group) received intervention prompts: SMS messages, leaflets and posters promoting walking, and a pedometer. Fourteen teachers were from a control school (school randomly
ABSTRACT Introduction: Individuals have affective associations with behaviours. These association... more ABSTRACT Introduction: Individuals have affective associations with behaviours. These associations have been shown to play a central role in the decision making processes of adults and to influence their physical activity (PA) behaviour, but no research has explored this concept within an adolescent population. This paper describes two studies that examine affective association and PA behaviour in adolescents. Methods: Study 1: Adolescent males (n = 199) and females (n = 377) self-reported their current physical activity levels with the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (a validated 7-day recall instrument) and completed validated inventories to assess PA beliefs and attitudes and affective associations with PA. Study 2: Adolescent females (n = 27) wore a GENEActiv accelerometer for 7 consecutive days to measure PA (time in moderate-to-vigorous PA was recorded) and completed the affective associations inventory. Results: Study 1: More positive affective associations with PA significantly predicted greater physical activity behaviour (b = .159, t(529) = 3.144, p < .005, r2 = .27). Further, the relationships between beliefs and attitudes and PA were mediated through affective associations. Study 2: Affective associations significantly predicted time in moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (p < .05, r2 = .17). Discussion: Results from Study 1 support previous research conducted with adult populations and show that in adolescents, although beliefs and attitudes are associated with PA, this association is mediated by affective associations. The limitation in Study 1 of self-reported PA was addressed in Study 2: data from both studies support the relevance of considering affective associations in PA behaviour of adolescents. Interventions to modify or improve affective associations should support PA behaviour change initiatives.
Affect-regulated exercise to feel 'good' can be u... more Affect-regulated exercise to feel 'good' can be used to control exercise intensity amongst both active and sedentary individuals and should support exercise adherence. It is not known, however, whether affect-regulated exercise training can lead to physical health gains. The aim of this study was to examine if affect-regulated exercise to feel 'good' leads to improved fitness over the course of an 8-week training programme. A repeated measures design (pretest-posttest) with independent groups (training and control). 20 sedentary females completed a submaximal graded exercise test and were then allocated to either a training group or control group. The training group completed two supervised sessions and one unsupervised session per week for 8 weeks. Exercise intensity was affect-regulated to feel 'good'. Following the 8 weeks of training, both groups completed a second submaximal graded exercise test. Repeated measures analyses of variance indicated a significant increase in the time to reach ventilatory threshold in the training group (318 ± 23.7s) compared to control (248 ± 16.9s). Overall compliance to training was high (>92%). Participants in the training group exercised at intensities that would be classified as being in the lower range of the recommended guidelines (≈ 50% V˙O(2) max) for cardiovascular health. Affect-regulated exercise to feel 'good' can be used in a training programme to regulate exercise intensity. This approach led to a 19% increase in time to reach ventilatory threshold, which is indicative of improved fitness.
An experiment is reported which tests Fazey & Hardy's (1988) catastrophe model of... more An experiment is reported which tests Fazey & Hardy's (1988) catastrophe model of anxiety and performance. Eight experienced basketball players were required to perform a set shooting task, under conditions of high and low cognitive anxiety. On each of these occasions, physiological arousal was manipulated by means of physical work in such a way that subjects were tested with physiological arousal increasing and decreasing. Curve-fitting procedures followed by non-parametric tests of significance confirmed (p less than .002) Fazey & Hardy's hysteresis hypothesis: namely, that the polynomial curves for the increasing vs. decreasing arousal conditions would be horizontally displaced relative to each other in the high cognitive anxiety condition, but superimposed on top of one another in the low cognitive anxiety condition. Other non-parametric procedures showed that subjects' maximum performances were higher, their minimum performances lower, and their critical decrements in performance greater in the high cognitive anxiety condition than in the low cognitive anxiety condition. These results were taken as strong support for Fazey & Hardy's catastrophe model of anxiety and performance. The implications of the model for current theorizing on the anxiety-performance relationship are also discussed.
ABSTRACT Explored the relationship between cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, physiological arou... more ABSTRACT Explored the relationship between cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, physiological arousal, and Sargent jump performance. Data were collected in 2 experiments from a total of 32 basketball and volleyball players (mean age 21 yrs) to test 3 hypotheses: (1) somatic anxiety is positively related to Sargent jump performance while cognitive anxiety is not related to Sargent jump performance; (2) physiological arousal is also positively related to Sargent jump performance; and (3) physiological arousal is more strongly related to Sargent jump performance than somatic anxiety. Results support the 3 hypotheses, and indicate that for this task increased somatic anxiety positively affects height jumped, cognitive anxiety does not affect performance, increased physiological arousal positively affects height jumped, and physiological arousal is more strongly related to performance than somatic anxiety. (French, Spanish, German, & Italian abstracts) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, Jan 31, 2015
To test the safety, feasibility and effectiveness of reducing sitting time in stroke survivors. R... more To test the safety, feasibility and effectiveness of reducing sitting time in stroke survivors. Randomised controlled trial with attention-matched control and blinded assessments. Community PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-five stroke survivors (22 male, mean age 66.9 ± 12.7 years). Four counselling sessions over seven weeks with a message of 'sit less, move more' (intervention group) or 'calcium for bone health' (attention-matched control group). Safety (adverse events, increases in pain, spasticity or fatigue) and feasibility (adherence to trial protocol). Secondary measures included time spent sitting (including in prolonged bouts ≥30mins), standing, and stepping as measured by the thigh-worn activPAL3 activity monitor (7 days, 24hrs/day protocol) and time spent in physical activity of at least moderate intensity as measured by the actigraph GT3x+. The Multi-Media Activity Recall for Children and Adults (MARCA) was used to describe changes in use-of-time. Thirty-three partici...
The Borg 6-20 Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale (Borg, 1998) is commonly used to compleme... more The Borg 6-20 Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale (Borg, 1998) is commonly used to complement physio- logical markers of exercise intensity to aid the prescrip- tion of exercise. Evidence regarding the possible influ- ence of gender, habitual activity and differentiated feel- ings of exertion (overall exertion, RPEO; localised exer- tion, RPEL) on the strength of the relationship between the RPE and oxygen uptake (VO2) during both estimation and production tests is equivocal. Eston et al. (2005, 2006) found no significant differences between measured maxi- mal oxygen uptake (VO2max) from a graded exercise test (GXT) to volitional exhaustion and VO2max predicted from sub-maximal, perceptually-guided GXTs (self-regulated at RPEs 9, 11, 13, 15 & 17), in active men and women. However, previous research has not considered: a) the potential utility of sub-maximal, perceptually-guided GXTs with sedentary participants, where the clinical benefits of predicting VO2max from sub-maximal ...
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