Automatic affective processes toward different types of exercise and physical activity in adults and children

Taking a closer look at affective responses to exercise- and physical activity (PA)-related stimuli (regardless of whether they are automatic or deliberative in nature) still represents an area of research on exercise or PA motivation that involves many open questions. From this starting point, the central question is, why so many individuals feel uncomfortable while exercising and further, is this perhaps fundamental to why so many people fail to be sufficiently physically active although they know, that it would be good for them? The main aim of this dissertation, entitled Automatic affective processes toward different types of exercise and physical activity in adults and children, was to provide new insights into automatic affective processes toward PA and exercise according to different types of exercise, and adults as well as to children. Based on theoretical assumptions of the Affective-Reflective theory of physical inactivity and exercise (ART; Brand & Ekkekakis, 2018), the focus lies on the automatic (type-1) process by establishing an Evaluative Priming (EP) task to assess automatic affective processes (AAP). Furthermore, this type-1 process is related to outcomes of the reflective (type-2) process. The first publication (Limmeroth & Hagemann, 2020) expands the general finding that the greater the amount of exercise, the more positive AAP toward exercise (in this case toward running stimuli), and vice versa (Chevance et al., 2019; Schinkoeth & Antoniewicz, 2017). Importantly, based on assumptions by Antoniewicz and Brand (2014), the preferred type of exercise (in our case running) also accounts for differences in automatic affective processes toward running. In addition, according to the results of this study, it can be suggested that that reflective processes and AAP can independently contribute to exercise (i.e., running) behavior. The second study (Limmeroth & Braun, 2022) represents an development and improvement of the first study and is dedicated to the degree of specificity of AAP regarding different types of exercise: exercising in fitness centers and mountain biking. The results indicate that AAP toward exercising in fitness centers can be differentiated between those, who perform fitness activities compared to those, who do not or only participate little in exercise activity. In contrast, AAP toward mountain biking resulted in a nonsignificant group difference. However, the tendency on a descriptive level was similar (active mountain bikers provided the most positive AAP toward mountain biking) with a smaller effect. Nevertheless, these results contribute to a better understanding of individual’s choices for specific preferences for different types and settings of exercise. Furthermore, AAP and reflective processes were unrelated in this study as well, which adds to existing knowledge that both processes can independently influence exercise related decisions (e.g. Phipps et al., 2021). After previously focusing on different types and settings of exercise, the last and third publication within this thesis (Limmeroth & Raboldt, 2022) now aims to investigate AAP toward PA in a different, much younger sample, namely in children. This study marks one of the first of its kind in assessing AAP toward PA in children. The results indicate PA-related AAP are associated with children’s PA behavior, as has previously been found in adults (Chevance et al., 2019). Furthermore, it should be emphasized that in line with other studies, in this study less than 23% of the children met daily (minimum) step recommendations (Pereira da Silva et al., 2015) and compared to boys, girls are less physically active, in our study too (e.g., Kantanista et al., 2015). For a better understanding of how and whether AAP toward PA are associated with the corresponding PA behavior already present in children and how important it is to foster positive affective experiences associated with PA during childhood, this study marks an important starting point for further research. In general, the conducted studies might, first, facilitate a better understanding of AAP and their role for exercise- and PA-related decisions. Second, the modifications of the EP task to assess AAP seems a promising development of the original procedure, especially regarding younger participants. Overall, it was envisioned that the three presented publications as part of this dissertation may contribute to the further development of the field of exercise psychology regarding the theoretical framework of dual-process approaches and its assumptions about the influence of automaticity and affective experiences for exercise and PA motivation. All in all, results underline that affective responses to exercise, whether automatically driven or reflexively accessible, are maybe the most important driving or restraining force for future exercise- and PA-behavioral decisions (Ekkekakis et al., 2020; Ekkekakis et al., 2018; Lewin, 1951). Positive as well as negative affective experiences with exercise and PA have a major impact on the corresponding future behavior (Allen Catellier & Yang, 2013; Chen et al., 2020).