Volume 1 (2000) - Affect and Anxiety
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Articles submitted in 1999
SAMPLE ARTICLE
Title:DIFFERENCES IN EXERCISE-INDUCED AFFECT BETWEEN
CO-ACTING AND INTERACTING EXERCISERS posted on SPORTPSYC Unpublished on: October 8, 1999
E-mail correspondence: A. Szabo, Department of Life Sciences, The Nottingham trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham
United Kingdom, NG11 8NS (Tel +44 115 848-3362)
su99p5.htm Anxiety levels and gender differences in social volleyball players before and during competition in an Australian setting
su99p16.htm Differences in Level of Anxiety During Practice and Competition
Attila Szabo, Laura Worringham, and John Whetton; The Nottingham Trent University
ABSTRACT
The Exercise-Induced Feeling Scale (EFI, Gauvin & Rejeski, 1993) was used for testing post-exercise affect in 99 physically active males involved in either individual (aerobic class, martial arts, swimming) or team (basketball, soccer, rugby) activities. Pre- to post-exercise changes in self-reports of physical exhaustion, revitalization, tranquillity, and positive engagement, were determined. The results revealed that people involved in individual activities reported more positive changes in affect, on all the dependent measures, than people involved in team activities. These findings indicate that subjective reports of affect, following a single bout of physical activity, differ between individual exercisers and team exercisers.
KEY WORDS: affect, exercise-induced feeling, physical activity, social, team
INTRODUCTION
The affective beneficence of physical activity is virtually undisputed in the literature (LaFontaine et al., 1992; Leith & Taylor, 1990). The consensus is based on congruent results obtained from both laboratory and field studies. However, the majority of these studies tested people who were involved in individual or co-acting exercise activities, whereas participants in interactive activities were largely ignored. A few studies that examined exercise-induced affect in interactive physical activities did not reveal affective benefits (Abele & Brehm, 1993; Miller & Miller, 1985; Szabo & Bak, 1999). Furthermore, to date, direct comparison of the affective effects of co-acting and interactive physical activities was not performed.
The current study attempted to clarify whether people involved in interactive, or team sports, gain similar benefits from their exercise training as individuals participating in co-acting physical activities. The research question was addressed by contrasting exercise-induced affect in three co-acting forms of exercise to those in three interacting forms of physical activities.
METHOD AND PROCEDURE
Participants
Ninety-nine male students (mean age = 21.3, years SD = 2.2) were tested. They were recruited into a "co-acting exercise group" that consisted of 17 aerobics class attendants, 14 martial artists, and 11 swimmers and into an "interacting exercise group" that consisted of 17 basketball players, 20 rugby players, and 20 soccer players. There were no differences between the two groups in age and in duration and frequency of weekly exercises. All participants were involved in regular exercising for more than three years prior to their participation in the study.
Measurement Instruments
The Exercise-Induced Feeling Inventory (EFI - Gauvin & Rejeski, 1993) was the key instrument used in this study. The EFI is a 12-item tool that requires participants to rate on a five-point scale, ranging from zero (do not feel at all) to four (feel very strongly), the degree to which they experience four affective states: revitalization (energetic, refreshed, revived), tranquillity (calm, peaceful, relaxed), positive engagement (enthusiastic, upbeat, happy), and physical exhaustion (fatigued, tired, worn-out). The internal consistencies of the four subscales range from .71 to .91 (Gauvin & Rejeski, 1993).
Procedure
With the help of the physical activity instructors, all exercise sessions were conducted at moderate intensity that is believed to be the most suitable for mood enhancement (Steptoe & Cox, 1988). The exercise sessions lasted for 90 minutes (±10 minutes) including the warm-up and the cool-down periods. Before the exercise sessions, all participants signed an informed consent form, completed an exercise behaviour questionnaire, and then completed the EFI. At the end of their physical activity session, participants completed the EFI again.
RESULTS
Data were analysed with a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANOCOVA) using the ratings on the four subscale of the EFI as the multivariate dependent measures and the pre-exercise scores as the covariates. This MANOCOVA was significant (Wilks' Lambda = 0.836, F(4,90) = 4.43, p <0.003). The follow-up univariate tests revealed that the multivariate effect was due to significant differences in all four measures of affect between the groups (Table 1): physical exhaustion (F(1,93) = 7.33, p <.008); positive engagement (F(1,93) = 4.11, p <.05); revitalization (F(1,93) = 5.15, p <.03); tranquillity (F(1,93) = 5.37 p <.02).
TABLE 1. Exercise-Induced Affect in Co-acting (n=42) and Interacting (n=57) Exercisers.
The Values Represent the Means and the Standard Deviations (Residualized) in Parenthesis.
________________________________________________________
Exercise-induced affect Co-acting group Interacting group
________________________________________________________
Physical Exhaustion 7.69 (0.71) 6.00 (0.70) 1
Positive Engagement 8.60 (0.89) 7.63 (0.97) 1
Revitalization 7.52 (0.66) 6.25 (0.43) 1
Tranquillity 7.91 (1.07) 6.68 (0.88) 1
________________________________________________________
1 Significantly lower than the scores of the co-acting group (p <.05)
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The results of this exploratory research reveal that co-acting exercisers report more favourable affect after their exercise workout than interactive exercisers. One exception was physical exhaustion, that was lower in interactive exercisers. This observation may be due to lesser "perceived" fatigue resulting from sustained mental focus on interaction rather than on associative thoughts that can freely occur in individual and co-acting exercises. The observed differences in positive affect may be attributed to a number of factors. The skills involved and outcome orientation in the two types of exercises can influence affect (Abele & Brehm, 1993). Further in co-acting physical activities the exercisers maintain control over their exercise while in team activities they interact and their success or failure largely depends on others’ work too. The evolution of the latter has a significant influence on the post-exercise affect experienced by interacting team exercisers (Abele & Brehm, 1993).
Given that no comparable research exists in the literature, the explanations given above should be considered as tentative. Knowing that differences do exist between the post-exercise affect experienced by co-acting and interacting exercisers, future inquiries need to explore the effects of mediating variables. Among these, attention should be given to the degree of control over one’s exercise behaviour, the type of interaction, skill components, sex, attentional focus, performance roles, and self-efficacy. Although the current study does not shed light on the role of these mediating variables, it reveals that co-acting physical activities may be preferred when exercise is prescribed for affective benefits.
REFERENCES
- Abele, A., & Brehm, W. (1993). Mood effects of exercise versus sports games. Findings and implications for well-being and health. International Review of Health Psychology, 2, 53-80.
- Gauvin, L., & Rejeski, W.J. (1993). The Exercise-Induced Feeling inventory: development and initial validation. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 15, 403-423.
- LaFontaine, T.P., DiLorenzo, T.M., Frensch, P.A., Stucky-Ropp, R.C., Bargman, E.P., & McDonald, D.G. (1992). Aerobic exercise and mood. Sports Medicine, 13, 160-170.
- Leith, L.M., & Taylor, A.H. (1990). Psychological aspects of exercise: a decade literature review. Journal of Sport Behavior, 13, 219-239.
- Miller, B.P., & Miller, A.J. (1985). Psychological correlates of success in elite sportswomen. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 16, 289-295.
- Steptoe, A., & Cox, S. (1988). The acute effects of aerobic exercise on mood: a controlled study. Health Psychology, 7, 329-340.
- Szabo, A., & Bak, M. (1999). Exercise-induced affect during training and competition in collegiate soccer players. European Yearbook of Sport Psychology, 3, 91-104.
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