Social Influences and the Theory of Planned Behaviour: Evidence for a Direct Relationship Between Prototypes and Young People's Exercise Behaviour

Do High- and Low-Active Adolescents Have Different Prototypes of Physically Active Peers?

“…In our study, the frequencies of prototype items suggest that some adjectives, that is, prototype components (e.g., sporty, athletic, outgoing/popular, attractive, intelligent, self-assured), were more accepted than had been found in a previous study of exercise prototypes (Rivis & Sheeran, 2003). Further research is needed to explain these differences.…”

“…Although the above-mentioned study (Rivis & Sheeran, 2003) did not use a factor analytical protocol, we have used exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation to detect the structure of prototype perceptions, similar to previous prototype investigations of health-risk behaviors (Skalle & Rise, 2006). The dimensions of prototype perceptions of physically active peers were labeled as a positive personality-related prototype factor and a positive fitness and health-related prototype factor, whereas the third factor (a negative prototype factor) did not show satisfactory reliability (Cronbach's alpha > 0.70).…”

“…Characteristics of the regularly active youth that were presented to participants were physically fit (1), motivated (2), healthy (3), sporty (4), athletic (5), carefree (6), outgoing/ popular (7), a bore (8), attractive (9), intelligent (10), and self-assured (11). This scale was based on a previous study of exercise prototypes (Rivis & Sheeran, 2003) in which the researchers asked participants to write down at least three characteristics that they thought described their physically active peers. Responses were then content analyzed, and percentage endorsements for each category were calculated.…”

“…Among the few studies that have investigated how prototypes might be related to healthy behaviors, one involved images of condom users and nonusers in relation to safe sex (Blanton et al, 2001). In other studies, prototypes have been examined in relation to exercise behavior (Ouellette, Hessling, Gibbons, Reis-Bergan, & Gerrard, 2005;Rivis & Sheeran, 2003). In these studies, healthy prototypes influenced health-promoting behaviors via their positive, desirable attributes, which served as a motivational goal for young people.…”

“…Based on the existing literature on exercise prototypes (Ouellette et al, 2005;Rivis & Sheeran, 2003), the present study examined whether physical activity behavior among Hungarian youth was characterized by social images, as health-risk behaviors are. Namely, we examined (a) whether high-active and low-active adolescents have different prototypes of physically active peers and (b) how social attitudes, such as social comparison, competitiveness, and certain aspects of life defense mechanisms, influenced the perceptions of these prototypes.…”