Perceived variety, psychological needs satisfaction and exercise-related well-being

Abstract

2Objective: Perceived variety represents a psychosocial experience that gives rise to, and supports 3 the maintenance of, an individual's well-being. In this study, we developed an instrument to 4 measure perceived variety in exercise, and examined whether ratings of perceived variety in 5 exercise predict unique variance in indices of exercise-related well-being in addition to that 6 explained by the three basic psychological needs (for competence, relatedness, and autonomy) 7 embedded within self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2002). We also examined the extent to 8 which variance in perceived variety is empirically distinct from (or subsumed by), competence, 9 relatedness, and autonomy in the context of exercise. 10Methods: A convenience sample of community adults (N = 507) completed online surveys twice 11 over a six-week period (n = 367). 12Results: Perceived variety in exercise was found to prospectively predict unique variance in indices 13 of exercise-related well-being, in addition to that explained by psychological needs for competence, 14 relatedness, and autonomy. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic procedures,

Is Variety a Spice of (an Active) Life?: Perceived Variety, Exercise Behavior, and the Mediating Role of Autonomous Motivation

“…The Perceived Variety in Exercise (PVE) questionnaire (Sylvester et al, 2014) was used to assess participants' perceived variety in exercise. An example item includes "I feel like I experience variety in my exercise."…”

“…In the current study, the experience of variety in exercise was examined at the same level as satisfaction of the needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy because perceived variety in exercise is also conceptualized as a felt experience that precedes both autonomous motivation (e.g., Dimmock et al, 2013) and exercise behavior (e.g., Glaros & Janelle, 2001), has enduring effects on psychological functioning (Sheldon, Boehm, & Lyubomirsky, 2012), and has affective consequences (cf. Sheldon, 2011;Sylvester et al, 2014). It is also noteworthy that it was not our aim to test variety as a basic psychological need in the present work as there are numerous criteria that must be established before a construct can be considered a psychological need (e.g., psychological needs are universal, apply across cultures, and are not necessarily consciously valued; Ryan & Deci, 2002).…”

“…Experiencing variety in exercise may be a unique predictor (when examined alongside satisfaction of the needs for competence, relatedness and autonomy) of autonomous motivation and exercise behavior because (a) the expectation (but not the experience) of variety in exercise has been found to be related to indices of autonomous motivation (Dimmock et al, 2013), (b) variety support has been found to explain variance in exercise behavior (Glaros & Janelle, 2001;JuvancicHeltzel et al, 2013), and (c) the experience of variety has been found to be empirically distinct from perceptions of competence, relatedness, and autonomy in the context of exercise (Sylvester et al, 2014). However, the extent to which the experience of variety in exercise explains unique variance (alongside perceptions of competence, relatedness, and autonomy) in exercise behavior via autonomous motivation has not yet been examined.…”

“…Based on previous research (e.g., Dimmock et al, 2013;Glaros & Janelle, 2001;Juvancic-Heltzel et al, 2013;Sylvester et al, 2014) and SDT (Ryan & Deci, 2002), we expected that perceived variety in exercise (along with satisfaction of the needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy) would explain unique variance in autonomous motivation and exercise behavior over a 6-week period, and that variance in exercise behavior would be explained (i.e., mediated) by autonomous motivation. In a test of discriminant validity, we expected that in the context of exercise, perceived variety (along with satisfaction of the needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy) would have a negative or nonsignificant effect on controlled motivation and that controlled motivation would have a negative or nonsignificant effect on exercise behavior (Ryan & Deci, 2002;Teixeira et al, 2012; see Figure 1 for the path diagram of the relationships examined).…”

“…For example, a participant in an exercise class may feel as though she or he experiences variety (via performing novel exercises or alternating among familiar exercises) without feeling competent in their performance, related to those with whom they exercise, or autonomous in the exercises they perform. In a recent study, Sylvester et al (2014) found that in the context of exercise, perceived variety in exercise is an empirically distinct psychological experience from the satisfaction of the needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy. More specifically, the authors found that perceived variety in exercise (along with perceptions of competence, relatedness, and autonomy) predicted unique variance in indices of exercise-related well-being and, through the use of factor analyses, the variance in perceived variety in exercise was not subsumed by satisfaction of the basic psychological needs.…”