• Real or imagined pressure to change one’s behavior, attitudes, or beliefs  o Can come from doctors, fitness leaders, family members, etc.
  •    An understanding of this pressure may lead to the development of interventions that  use social influence to increase physical activity participation

 

Social Support

  •    Most important type of social influence in exercise and physical activity settings
  •    The perceived comfort, caring, persistence, and information that a person receives  from others
  •    Two approaches:
  • Measure size of one’s social network
  • Measure amount and type of support that an exerciser receives

 

Size of Social Network

  •    Measured by the number of groups or individuals an exerciser can turn to for  support
  •    Does not take into account quality or type of support provided

 

Types of Support

  •    Instrumental Support: Practical, tangible assistance  Ex: If your parents drive you  to soccer practice
  •    Emotional Support: Encouragement, praise, empathy, concern
  •    Informational Support: Directions, suggestions, advice and feedback  Ex: Telling  someone at the gym what exercises to do
  •    Companionship Support: Friends, family members, exercise groups
  •    Validation: Comparison with others to gauge progress

 

Research on Relationships Between Social Support and Physical Activity

  •    Number of social contacts:
  • People who have more available support sources reported greater levels of physical exertion
  •    Amount and type of social support:
  • The most effective type of support depends on the exerciser’s needs at a given time
  • Exercisers may need emotional support more than they need instrumental support

 

Individual and Group Influence on Exercise

  •   Family  spouse, children, parents  influences exercise the most
  •    Important others  physician, friends, coworkers
  •     Fitness professionals and instructors
  •     Other exercise participants

 

 

Influence of Family – Spousal or Partner Support

  • Individuals have better attendance and fewer drop out rates when exercising with a  spouse  o Emotional Support  o Companionship Support
  • Spouses-partners provide much-needed support to mothers with young children,  because mothers may have difficulty finding time to exercise  o Instrumental Support

 

 

Influence of Family – Parental Support

  •    Social support from parents and family has been identified as one of the most  important determinants of participation in physical activity
  • Parents provide many different types of social support  o Instrumental: Provide transportation, pay fees  o Emotional: Provide encouragement  o Informational: Teach a new activity  o Companionship: Play with their children

 

 

Downside to Family Support

  •        Behavioral Reactance: When family members pressure a loved one to exercise, that  person may respond in the opposite manner actually exercise less  – Social control
  •    Overprotectiveness
  •    Parental pressure

 

Influence of Health Practitioners

  •    Kinesiologists
  •    Physiotherapists
  •    Nurses
  •    Physicians
  •        Psychiatrists   –   Pharmacist
  •     Chiropractics
  •    About 25  of people look to health professionals for advice on how to become  physically active
  •    There is a significant increase in exercise after a doctor’s visit that includes exercise  counseling
  •     Physicians who exercise regularly themselves are important role models
  • But not all physicians prescribe exercise. Why not?  o Don’t perceive exercise as an immediate treatment  not enough confidence in  it
  • Don’t feel qualified to perform exercise counseling not enough knowledge of  it
  • Not enough time sometimes the doctor, sometimes the client

 

Dogs as Social Influence

  •    People who own dogs are more likely to meet recommended physical activity levels  than those who do not
  •    Many dog owners report feeling guilty if they do not walk their dogs; guilt avoidance  becomes a powerful incentive
  •    Dogs provide companionship support

 

 

Influence of Exercise Class Leaders

  •    Single most important determinant of an exerciser’s continued participation in an  exercise program
  • Exercise leaders can provide many different types of social support:  o Informational: Show what exercises to do  o Emotional: Provide encouragement-praise  o Instrumental: Organize fitness classes

o Companionship: Distract from feelings of pain, fatigue, boredom

 

 

Leadership Styles of Exercise Class Leaders

  •    Socially supportive: Encouragement, verbal reinforcement, praise, showing  interest in participants, engaging in casual conversation before and after class  very  successful at keeping people engaged in exercise
  •    Bland: Verbal criticism of exercisers who made mistakes, no encouragement or  praise, no interaction before or after class

 

Effects of Socially Supportive Leadership Styles

  •     Greater exercise self-efficacy
  •     More energy and enthusiasm
  •    Less post-exercise fatigue
  •        Less concern about embarrassing oneself and trying new things  –   More enjoyment
  •     Stronger intentions to join another class in the future

 

The Exercise Leader as a Role Model

  •    Emphasize importance of getting adequate rest between workouts and taking time  to fully recuperate when sick or injured
  •    Emphasize fitness and fun during exercise
  •    Encourage participants to set realistic fitness and weight loss goals
  •    Give praise and advice about future goals

 

Influence of CoCExercisers and Observers

  •    Actual effort: People increase effort and performance when others are watching
  •    SelfLReported Effort: Presence of others and the desire to make a good impression  can influence self-reported effort

 

Ratings of Perceived Exertion  RPE

  • People report a lower RPE when exercising next to a person who makes an exercise  look easy
  •    Men report a lower RPE with tests involving heavy workloads when women are  conducting the tests

 

 

 

Dangers of Trying to Make a Good Impression

  •    People may exert themselves too strenuously when others are watching  which may  result in injury
  •    People may be concerned that others perceive them as weak if they reduce the  amount of weight they are lifting

 

Influence of Society

  •   Norms  i.e. what is “normal”  are reflected by a number of factors:

o Media’s portrayal of physical activity  o Amount of resources dedicated to helping people be physically active  o Visibility of physically active individuals

  • Stereotypes are beliefs about the characteristics of people in a certain group:  o Weight training is a “man’s activity”  o Non-exercisers are lazy and couch potatoes

 

Influence of Exercise Groups

  •    Can promote exercise-related thoughts, feelings and behaviors
  • Positive social influence
  •    Can undermine exercise-related thoughts, feelings and behaviors
  • Negative social influence
  •    There are three aspects of the exercise group that affect exercise:
  • Group Size o Group Composition
  • Group Cohesion: Has the largest effect

 

Group Cohesion

  • Cohesive exercise group:   o One in which group members are drawn to a common goal   o  Are integrated around the pursuit of that goal  o The pursuit of satisfying social interactions and communication

 

Conceptual Model of Group Cohesion

 

Group Cohesion

  •    More cohesive exercise groups, especially those higher in ATG-T, foster greater  exercise adherence
  •     Team building results in improved adherence and fewer dropouts

 

 

How to Increase Feelings of Group Cohesion  Team Building

  •    Develop feelings of distinctiveness among members
  •    Assign group roles and-or positions  give them something to do and they will be  more likely to come back – makes them feel important
  •    Establish group norms  shared beliefs that everyone follow, fosters in-group  behavior
  •    Provide opportunities to make sacrifices for the group
  •    Provide opportunities for interaction

How Does Group Cohesion Actually Foster Adherence?

  • Cohesive groups foster:  o More positive attitudes toward class attendance   o Greater social support and interaction  o Greater self-efficacy in group members

 

Group Size

  • As number of people increases, perceptions of group cohesiveness decrease. Why?  o Crowding: Lack of comfort as personal space decreases  o Fewer interactions with other members

o Fewer interactions with the group leader ! Leader seems less accessible   o Less communication and enjoyment

 

Group Composition

  • What are factors that might affect how comfortable someone feels in an exercise  group?  o Similarity of members  age, gender, fitness level, etc.
  • Affects comfort level and motivation o Mixed gender makeup
  • May cause discomfort
  • May cause feelings of being an oddity o Group Enthusiasm
  • Results in greater enjoyment and future intentions to join an exercise group
  • May decrease feelings of self-consciousness and worries about embarrassment and social evaluation

 

Practical Recommendations

  •    Encourage exercisers to seek social support
  •     If you are in a position of social influence, encourage and promote physical activity
  •    Many intervention strategies exist to improve social aspects of exercise  environments
  •    If physical activity is to become commonplace amount all members of society, we  need to change some cultural norms and stereotypes