Wilson, P. M. and Rodgers, W. M.

(2002), The Relationship Between Exercise Motives and Physical Self-Esteem in Female Exercise Participants: An Application of Self-Determination Theory. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 7: 3043. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-9861.2002.tb00074.x Summary: It is unclear how processes that function in the self - system, a set of qualities developed in a persons character over time in response to parental figures and other influences, result in physical self-perceptions. In an effort to determine physical self-esteem in people, self-esteem was placed at the top of a hierarchy of selfperceptions. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between independent exercise motives and physical self-esteem (PSE) of female participants based on arguments from the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). SDT is a theory to explain a persons goal-oriented behavior. Ryan talks about how there are some people who enjoy working out, but others only exercise because they realize the value of exercising on their health and dont see the activity as enjoyable. There is a fairly new argument connecting the quality of motivation to the level and type of self-esteem. Because females are shown to be less active than their male counterparts, researchers feel the need to explore psychological functions that regulate the participation of women in physical exercise. There were three hypothesis for the study. First it was hypothesized that the motives representing SDTs regulatory continuum would create a pattern. The second hypothesis was that the autonomous motives would have a greater positive association with SE than controlling motives. The last hypothesis was that only self-governed motives predicted whether female exercisers were in the high or low PSE group. In total there were 114 females who were used for the study and who enrolled in a 15-week exercise class that met twice a week for about 50 minutes. Every woman had their age, sex, height, and weight put into the data collection along with a Body Mass Index. All the women were in the healthy range according to their BMI. The Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ) was completed by each individual to assess their self-determined reasons for exercising whether it be because of guilt (introjected), pleasure(intrinsic), peer pressure (extrinsic), or health benefits (identified). The participants were told about the purpose of the study and gave informed consent. The major focus of the study was to see if personal, independent motives would categorize different groups of people based on their perceptions of physical self-worth. The preliminary analysis of the data showed more motives described by the participants and a definite gap between those with high and low PSE. Supporting the first hypothesis, a pattern was created in the BREQ motives. It was also found that external regulation was negatively associated with PSE and intrinsic regulations were positively correlated with PSE. ** In all the data proposes that the women exercising for the stated reasons of pleasure or seeking health benefits are more than likely to record a higher personal self-esteem. The higher PSE advocates the idea that self-determined exercise motives can also influence your overall mental health. Those who attempt to exercise influenced by social pressures will not develop motives that can eventually promote their self-worth. The article concludes with once again stating that the study has provided evidence to support a connection between self-directed exercise regulations and a more positive view of ones physical appearance in and active female.

Do I really want this here?? **The group size for the experiment was chosen based on how many variables were going to be observed, and in this case there were four. A formula was developed to associate more than 80% of the participants into the group that they fell into while it could not be applied to the leftover portion. Exercise motives did show patterned relationships with one another.

McGrath, J. A., OMalley, M. and Hendrix, T. J. (2011), Group exercise mode and health-related quality of life among healthy adults. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 67: 491500. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05456.x Summary: Many health issues can be related back to physical inactiveness and healthcare providers should encourage increased physical activity to avoid issues later in life. Exercising drastically improves physical and psychological health and facets of health-related qualities of life (HRQOL). Not all exercising is the same though, with different effects on HRQOL and different fortes in each kind like muscle endurance, flexibility, or speed. Physicians should be aware of these differences when advising patients about physical activity to make sure that the exercise matches up with the individual. Group fitness classes are now attended by people other than those considered to be healthy individuals. Step aerobics had a focus on increasing cardiovascular health. Those who took step aerobics reported positive mood effects, decrease anger and tension, and other benefits. The focus of pilates is to condition the body and improve flexibility. Strength training classes focus on muscular strength and endurance. All three of these classes are quite popular and this article wants to explore the differences between the effects on HRQOL of the classes. High intensity exercises, like aerobics or step aerobics, deliver higher scores emotionally and psychologically. Overall, the more intense the exercise, the higher the scores. Participants in the study attended either pilates, strength training, or step aerobics as a group fitness class. They were given surveys that asked questions pertaining to HRQOL. These surveys were highlighted and patterns were written in the margin as preliminary labels. Most people who participated were women. Two kinds of motivators of participation in a group fitness class are personal and interpersonal factors. Personal factors are how the exercise is making the individual feel about themselves physically including relaxed, less bodily fat, and more flexible. Interpersonal factors are how the surrounding participants make the individual feel about the group setting. The group setting may be competitive, social, energized, or supporting.

Cumming, J. and Thgersen-Ntoumani, C. (2011), Self-Presentational Cognitions for Exercise in Female Adolescents. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41: 429444. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00720.x

When people meet others, self-presentational strategies are used to control what we want other people see about us. Everyone wants to put their best foot forward but these strategies can be unhealthy to those who think they fall short in the physical physique aspect. Social Physique anxiety (SPA) is anxiety coming from feeling judged based on bodily appearances. High levels of SPA have been connected to being a deterrent for doing physical activity because of embarrassment but at the same time high levels of SPA are motivators for some to work out and fix whats wrong with them. Most younger females who are obese tend to have higher SPA levels and lower physical activity levels. And high SPA level is positively associated with selfpresentation motives in adolescent girls. Self-presentational efficacy expectations (SPEE) is believing in yourself that you can convince others of the image you want them to see. Self-presentational outcome expectancy (SPOE) is thinking you can make a good impression if you perform a certain behavior. Self-presentational outcome value (SPOV) is the importance of the outcome received. Higher levels of SPEE and SPOV were found in high frequency exercisers. The older women who are confident in their ability to present themselves are more likely to participate in exercise. The point of this study is to further explore and clarify how self-presentational cognitions affect female adolescents exercising. Females age 12-17 were used for the experiment and they reported taking part in physical activities on a weekly basis. SPEE was assessed by having the participants rate their confidence in doing what was listed. SPOV was assessed by allowing the participants to give numbered importance to achieving goals. SPA was assessed by having the participants rate their anxiety during certain situations. All of this surveying was done during a regular physical education class. The results state that females who claim a high exercise frequency have a stronger belief that they can convince people of how they want to be seen. Our ndings, therefore, provide further evidence that self-presentational efcacy beliefs affect the relationship between SPA and exercise frequency. A positive relationship was found between SPA and exercise frequency. They use SPA as a motivator to exercise. In the conclusion, the article states that other SPA cognitions are almost just as important, and efforts should be made to change the other expectations to something more realistic/normal.

Wilson, P. M. and Todd Rogers, W. (2008), Examining Relationships Between Perceived Psychological Need Satisfaction and Behavioral Regulations in Exercise. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 13: 119142. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-9861.2008.00031.x

Summary: Self-determination theory is a tool used to attempt to gain und erstanding of motivational issues, specifically citing the fact that is it public knowledge that inactivity causes many health problems that could easily be fixed by an active lifestyle. Even though people are aware that exercising is beneficial to your health in many ways, they still remain inactive causing a lot of health issues. The theory to explain this inactiveness is called the self-determination theory (SDT). Motivation to do anything is guided by self-determined regulations which can lead to positive mental health. As a part of SDT, motivation can be more readily explained as a phenomenon and studied so

as to enhance the quality of life. The way that SDT theory approaches psychological needs provides an outline for explaining motivational occurrences. When experiences fulfill the need satisfaction it positively affects behaviors. After studying exercisers, the data showed that perceived competence, instead of autonomy or relatedness, had the strongest connection with self-determined regulations for exercise. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationships between perceptions of competence, autonomy, and relatedness to controlling and self-dictated motivations for exercise along the lines of SDT. The method used to address the stated purpose was to examine the association of psychological need satisfaction and exercise regulations when someone hand chooses a group fitness class to attend. This study had data provided by 34 men and 257 women who were enrolled in aerobic exercise classes. Most participants were younger than 30 and all were in a healthy BMI range. The psychological need satisfaction in exercise (PNSE) was used to question how the subjects felt while exercising and the behavioral regulation in exercise questionnaire (BREQ) was used to figure out the exercise regulations of the participants. The participants took both surveys with a ten day window before taking the same set a second time. The results from tests were compared to sample t tests and although there were changes, it was nothing drastic. The results showed that perceptions of psychological need satisfaction are an important part in exercise motivations. The BREQ survey showed a weak influence on the exercise of an individual compared to the PNSE. There are still a number of studies and researching going on about exercise, but this study help brings another piece to the puzzle showing that the PNSE helps to measure perceived competence, autonomy, and relatedness in exercise. SEM results show that the dominant predictor of exercise regulations is perceived competence. Overall the study was supportive of the idea that perceived psychological need satisfaction is an important aspect of motivational processes in exercise.

HAGGER, M. S., HEIN, V. and CHATZISARANTIS, N. L. D. (2011), Achievement Goals, Physical Self-Concept, and Social Physique Anxiety in a Physical Activity Context. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41: 12991304. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00761.x

The purpose of this study is to explore and find out if there is a correlation between selfrelated ideas that are either negative or positive and the approach or avoidance of achievement goals in physical activity. Culture and present/past records of physical activeness will be tested for their effects on the approach or avoidance of achievement goals. The two orientations of achievement goal perspectives are the mastery oriented, viewing success/failure as personal improvement and learning, and performanceoriented, gauging success/failure compared to the performance of others. The 2 X 2 framework was developed to hypothesis that the avoidance or approach response of someone is a result of their imagined outcome. If their outcome is positive, there is an approach response. If the outcome is negative, it is an avoidance response. The four types of 2 x 2 goal constructs are as follows: mastery approach goals where there is a positive outcome and linked with improving overall performance, performance-approach

goals which are positive and compared to the performances of others as well as an average outcome, mastery-avoidance goals which are negative and focused on the personal failures, and performance-avoidance which is negative and focused on the personal shortcomings compared to the achievement of others. The physical selfconcept is an individuals idea of a universal physical being and is an influence of decisions and opinions of the physical domain. This concept is usually linked with adaptive behaviors like participating is physical activities. Social physique anxiety is an individuals anxiety when their physical self may be at risk of being judged. This concept is usually linked with maladaptive behaviors like less physical activity. Knowing this, an individual with high physical self-concept may be more likely to participant in physical activities in lieu of satisfaction and an individual with high social physique anxiety may be more likely to avoid exercise activities to avoid drawing attention to their physique or inability to perform a task compared to others.

Edmunds, J., Ntoumanis, N. and Duda, J. L. (2006), A Test of Self-Determination Theory in the Exercise Domain. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36: 2240 2256. doi: 10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00102.x One of the major risks in society today is the inactivity of individuals even though it is widely promoted that inactivity leads to major health problems later in life. Selfdetermination theory is being examined more and more in the exercise domain to explain motivations. It theorizes about how motivation is self-determined and regulated by external influences; therefore, the individual is either free to choose what to do or feelings compelled to participate in an activity, respectively. SDT suggests there are three kinds of motivation: intrinsic motivation which is a normal human reaction to strive for a challenge, learn, and extend their abilities, extrinsic motivation which pertains to gaining something not related to the physical activity (social aspects), and amotivation which is apathy towards exercise and no intentions of pursuing it. The study is hoping to observe how psychological need satisfaction and motivational regulations may possibly predict resulting exercise behavior. Results showed that the most highly satisfied need was autonomy, then relatedness and competence. Because there was a small positive correlation of regulations and intrinsic motivations between strenuous exercises, it was studied more in-depth to see if any variables contributed to predictability of strenuous exercise. The analysis showed that gender, age, competence, external regulation, introjected regulation, and identified regulation all independently contributed to the prediction. Satisfaction of the three psychological needs, introjected regulation, identified regulation, and intrinsic motivation, positively correlated to strenuous and total exercise behavior. This should come at no surprise though because if an individual participates in strenuous activity, it is necessary that the individual have some value on the benefits and importance of physical activity.