A Comparison of Exercise Beliefs to Same-day Exercise Behavior

There is strong evidence for an association between regular physical activity and reduced
risk for cancers of the breast and colon. The majority of adults do not engage in enough
physical activity. Motivating adults to exercise is critical to cancer prevention efforts.
However, additional work is needed to improve the theoretical frameworks applied to exercise
promotion. The most often cited theories of health promotion include the outcomes of a target
behavior as important determinants. The perceptions people have about the outcomes of
exercise, and more generally attitudes about exercise, are associated with exercise
participation. Conceptualizations of perceived outcomes are categorized by whether they are
instrumental (i.e. utility-based) or affective (i.e. feeling-based) in nature. Recent efforts
to compare the relative predictive power of instrumental and affective attitudes suggest that
affective attitudes may better predict exercise behavior. Aim 1 of this proposal seeks to
compare the relative influence of instrumental versus affective attitudes on exercise
behavior. Another distinction can be made between perceptions that are held temporally
proximal versus distal to exercise behavior. In the vast majority of relevant research in the
exercise field, perceptions are assessed and then future exercise behavior is assessed months
later via self-report. However, day to day perceptions and exercise behavior is largely
unknown. The temporal distance of perceptions from the decision to exercise can be
significantly shortened using ecological momentary assessments. Aim 2 of this proposal seeks
to compare the relative predictive power of temporally distal versus proximal perceptions on
exercise behavior. Finally, aim 3 will examine the interaction between instrumental/affective
and temporally proximal/distal attitudes for predicting exercise behavior. The proposed
research seeks to contribute to cancer prevention efforts by examining underlying perceptions
that motivate the day to day decision to exercise. In particular, technological advances in
mobile platforms to deliver interventions to people wherever they are requires better support
for how to apply these methods. Using theory-based, empirically supported concepts, this
longitudinal study will follow previously inactive adults over 12 weeks using electronic
diaries to measure their perceptions and exercise behavior change while they receive an
exercise intervention. This study will provide a fine-grained examination of the determinants
of exercise targeted in exercise promotion interventions. The results will inform future
efforts to promote exercise using mobile technologies by determining what types of beliefs
(instrumental/affective) and what times (temporal proximity to behavior) are most critical
times to intervene.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Generally healthy, inactive adults 18-65

Exclusion Criteria:

- Chronic diseases, recent hospitalization for mental health problems, binge drinking,
physical limitations that would make exercise unsafe