Social Influences on Exercise PDF

Social Influences on Exercise Dr. Jeremy Walsh KINESIOL 3H03 Asynchronous Lecture #5 mcmaster.ca Lecture Outline and Objectives Social Influences on Exercise 5 types of social support Sources Family Health care practitioners...

Social Influences on Exercise Dr. Jeremy Walsh KINESIOL 3H03 Asynchronous Lecture #5 mcmaster.ca Lecture Outline and Objectives Social Influences on Exercise 5 types of social support Sources Family Health care practitioners Exercise leaders Exercise groups Social media Social Influence and Support Social influence: Real or imagined pressure to change one’s behavior, attitudes, or beliefs Loading… Social support: Perceived comfort, caring, assistance, and information that a person receives from others ◦Reflected in the size of one’s social network ◦Reflected in the amount/type of support received  Types of Social Support Instrumental Support Emotional Support Informational Support Companionship Support Validation Support  Instrumental Support: involves providing tangible & practical assistance that will help someone achieve their exercise goals e.g: spotting a weightlifter in the gym Emotional Support: happens by expressing encouragement, empathy, caring and concern towards another person e.g: praising your friend for completing a run and encouraging them to do it again Informational Support: providing directions, advice or suggestions about how to exercise e.g: providing feedback on someone’s progress Companionship Support: availability of friends, family and exercise groups for you to exercise with e.g: going to the gym with a friend, going for a walk with you dog Validation Support: comparing yourself to others in order to validate your thoughts, feelings & experiences as normal e.g: someone in a cardiac rehab setting had a heart attack, seeing other like them will give them validation Loading… Possible Negative Influences: Teasing/bullying Sources of Social Support Family Family consistently shown to have small, but positive impact on exercise behavior Support comes in many different forms Parents influence on children especially important Sources of Social Support Family Cardiac Rehab Example: Reduces risk of death by 25% Goal = increase adherence and completion of rehab Completed Drop-Out Rehab Exercised with Spouse 90% 10% Exercised without Spouse 66% 33%  The Family Downsides Greater pressure to exercise / perform can lead to feelings of guilt for not exercising Can have the opposite effect on exercise behaviour Behavioural Reactance: when individuals perceive significant others to be exerting social control rather than providing social support Perception of pressure (support vs. control) impacts perception of the activity Encouragement (+ support) increase exercise effort/behaviour Pressure (- support) behavioural reactance, decrease effort/behaviour  Sources of Influence: Health Care Providers Credible, preferred source of information “Practice what you preach” People more likely to be active if a doctor encourages it Why don’t all physicians prescribe PA?  ACSM’s Exercise is Medicine (EIM) Loading…  Sources of Influence: Exercise Leader/Instructor Can provide all five types of social support Influence may depend on leadership style Ratings of Perceived Exertion Training 1RM (aka (RPE) Intensity gainz) PT > no PT PT > no PT PT > no PT  Importance of Leadership Style Transformational BLAND Encouraging, positive, Neutral, no support or socially supportive encouragement Addresses participants Does not use by name participants’ names Reinforces positive Focuses on correcting behaviours, ignores negative behaviours/ mistakes mistakes Words instructions Words instructions positively negatively Transformational Leadership  Importance of Leadership Style Compared to a bland leadership style, an transformational leadership style produces greater: Exercise self-efficacy Energy and enthusiasm Enjoyment Adherence Intention to join exercise class in future And less… Post-exercise fatigue Concern about embarrassing oneself and trying new things  Exercise Groups Dynamics and Cohesion Those who are part of an exercise group are more likely to be adherent BUT, some aspects of exercise groups can undermine exercise- related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors Key aspects: Group cohesion Group size Group composition  Exercise Groups Cohesion Dynamic process reflected in the tendency of the group 2 Key Elements: ) Task – liking the group activities / goals ) Social – liking group members and interactions outside of exercise Exercise Groups Cohesion Group Size As group sizes , perceived group cohesion and exercise satisfaction Why? Smaller groups = easier to integrate people, more individual attention Bigger groups = more crowded, lower quality of interactions  Group Composition Factors People may feel more comfortable and confident exercising in groups… Where they are on an equal footing with other group members When they perceive other exercisers as physically similar Social Facilitation “Social” Technology