An experience sampling study of physical activity and positive affect: investigating the role of situational motivation and perceived intensity across time

Abstract

The nature of the association between physical activity and positive affect is complex, prompting experts to recommend continued examination of moderating variables. The main purpose of this 2-week field study was to examine the influence of situational motivational regulations from self-determination theory (SDT) on changes in positive affect from pre-to post-to 3-hours post-physical activity. Another purpose was to clarify the relationship between physical activity intensity [i.e., Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE)] and positive affect at the stated time points. This study employed an experience sampling design using electronic questionnaires. Sixty-six healthy and active, multiplerole women provided recurrent assessments of their physical activity, situational motivation, and positive affect in their everyday lives over a 14-day period. Specifically, measures were obtained at the three time points of interest (i.e., pre-, post-, 3-hours post-physical activity). The data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Results showed that intrinsic motivation was related to post-physical activity positive affect while the influence of identified regulation appeared 3-hours post-physical activity. In addition, RPE, which was significantly predicted by levels of introjection, was more strongly associated with an increase in positive affect postphysical activity than three hours later. The theoretical implications of these findings vis-à vis SDT, namely in regards to a viable motivational sequence predicting the influence of physical activity on affective states, are discussed. The findings regarding the differential influences of RPE and motivational regulations carries applications for facilitating women's well-being.

The Role of the Context of Physical Activity for Its Association with Affective Well-Being: An Experience Sampling Study in Young Adults

“…Our results are in line with the previous research in that positive mood was increased and negative mood was decreased after physical activity [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ] and while being outdoors [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Using ESM data and applying between-individual analysis, Park et al found no interaction between physical activity and being outdoors [ 32 ], which was also consistent with our results studying within-individual variation.…”

“…Physical activity is beneficial to both mental and physical health—being physically active improves physical health [ 1 , 2 ] and physical activity as an intervention is moderately effective in treating depressive disorders [ 3 ]. An elevated mood immediately following physical activity in everyday life has been broadly reported in studies adopting experience sampling methods (ESM) [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. The mechanism behind this association may relate to the fact that engaging in physical exercise fosters the individual’s perception of being resourceful, in control of their actions [ 21 ], and striving towards increased physical fitness and bodily resources [ 22 , 23 ], which in turn may contribute to affective well-being [ 24 ].…”

Within-Person Temporal Associations Among Self-Reported Physical Activity, Sleep, and Well-Being in College Students

“…This finding is consistent with laboratory studies showing that a single bout of physical activity enhances positive emotions up to 1 day after the experimental session (30). We extend prior experience-sampling work (41–45,47) by examining the effects of physical activity on emotions up to 3 days later. This finding is further supported by interpreting it alongside the contemporaneous network showing that increased physical activity is associated with decreased happiness on the same day, suggesting that there is a temporal precedence for the physical activity-emotions association: people need to engage in physical activity before experiencing enhanced positive emotions.…”

“…Evidence from studies seeking to replicate laboratory findings is conflicting. Some experience-sampling studies observed increased positive emotions after physical activity (41–45), whereas others have found no such association (34,46–48). Similar mixed findings have been observed for negative emotions, with some studies finding reduced negative emotions after physical activity (42,44) and others finding no association (34,47,49,50).…”

Toward brief tools assessing motivation for exercise: Rationale and development of a six- and 12-item version of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise 3 (BREQ3) Questionnaire.

“…This sample was comprised of 66 active women (i.e., meeting the Canadian physical activity guidelines of 150 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, Ross et al, 2020; Tremblay et al, 2011) with a mean age of 42.56 years ( SD = 5.61 years; range = 31–53 years) who consented to participate in an experience sampling study on exercise motivation and affect (see Guérin et al, 2013, for details). All participants were mothers and working full time.…”