L14 - Ex & Psych Well-Being Part 4: Self-esteem & Affect

• Exercise & Self-Esteem 

  •  Self-esteem: A self-evaluation that reflects how you feel about yourself in different life contexts or globally 
  • Confidence = confidence in an outcome 
  • Self-efficacy = how confident you are in a particular skill 
  • Overlap amongst concepts not exactly the same 
  • Low self-esteem predicts depression & anxiety 

  
• Exercise & Self-Esteem

  • Can have different types of self-esteem:
  • Physical 
  • To perform sport, how you move 
  • Academic 
  • Social 
  • Emotional 
  • + any other areas that people value (eg creative)
  • All wrapped up = Global self-esteem 
  • To make sense of you & how self-evaluate yourself 

  
• Exercise & Self-Esteem

  • Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Global) - 10 items 
  • eg I feel that I have a number of good qualities 
  • All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure 
  • Strongly disagree → Strongly agree
  • Can measure using psychometrics 
  • Positively & negatively word examples above -> make question more positive

  
• Exercise & Self-Esteem: How does exercise influence self-esteem?

  • Exercise can help people see themselves more positively (improves your self-esteem)
  • 76% of studies show increase self-esteem w/ exercise 
  • Self-esteem change related to increase fitness & confidence
  • Biggest increases increase more in those w/ lower physical function (ie more to gain) = ceiling effect

  
• Exercise & Self-Esteem: How does exercise influence self-esteem?

  • Also sense of goal setting to increase self-esteem 
  • More likely to increase self-esteem 
  • Strongest link to physical self-esteem 
  • Can also feed into global self-esteem
  • Affect on social, making good connections 
  • Overall increase in self-esteem

  
• Exercise can build physical self-esteem through increased self-perceptions of…

  • Sport Competence 
  • eg technique training (to improve sport competence)
  • Achieve what you want
  • Physical Strength 
  • eg resistance training 
  • Physical Condition 
  • eg aerobic training 
  • Body Attractiveness
  • eg weight loss programme 
  • Not a great form of motivation 
  • Not good for self-esteem (when compare self to others - unattainable ideals)
  • Other things more important - eg process rather than losing weight (which may happen along the way)
• Exercise can build physical self-esteem through increased self-perceptions of…

  • Self-perceptions vs how others perceive you is different 
  • Self-perception is really important as what will influence self-esteem - not what others think
• Exercise & Self-Esteem - 3 Key Points

  1. We must value something before self-esteem will increase 
  2. There must be room for improvement (ceiling effect)
  3. Perceived change is more important than objective change 

  • Reduce risk of depression & anxiety
• Exercise & Self-Esteem - 3 Key Points

  • We must value something before self-esteem will increase
  • Understand what they value & target those areas 
  • There must be room for improvement (ceiling effect)
  • May maintain but we looking at improving 
  • Work at things not so good at 
  • Perceived change is more important than objective change 
  • eg feel better about self before gains strength/lose weight etc 
  • Psych change before objective change
• Physical Activity & Affect 

  • Affect = How we feel (ie mood, emotions)
  • In the moment 
  • A key component of psychological well being
• Physical Activity & Affect 

  • Negative affect  
  • Bad mood
  • Depressive state
  • Positive affect 
  • Good mood
  • Euphoria
• Physical Activity & Affect 

  • To maximise psychological wellbeing & motivation, we need to understand this relationship 
  • esp exercise intensity & affect 
  •  The feeling scale  
  • Is how we measure affect
  • Exercise has a direct effect on affect  

  
• Why Does Affect Matter? Part 1

  • Positive affect is a component of good psychological well being; Persistently low affect is a symptom of depression  
  • Affect also has a motivational force: People are more likely to do things that make them feel good & avoid what makes them feel bad
  • ie the hedonic principle
  • Do things we enjoy 

  
• Why Does Affect Matter? Part 2

  • Hedonic principle = Do things we enjoy 
  • More likely to go back if enjoyed it last time
  • That run was horrible. I won't be doing that again 
  • I felt great during that circuit class. Sign me up for the next one 
  • There are caveats to this - people will & do forsake pleasure for the greater good 
  • But at a population level, feeling good is important  
  • For general pop want to make it enjoyable
  • The understanding of affect is more important for general pop

  
• Influence of Exercise Intensity on Affect 

  • Exercise intensity has the strongest influence on how we feel (affect) during exercise 
  • So what exercise should we ‘prescribe’ to feel good?
  • Measure how they feel at before, during & after different intensities
  • Important to measure after may get rebound effect 
  • Still can change

  
• Influence of Exercise Intensity on Affect 

  • HITT vs cont vigorous vs cont moderate intensity 
  • Everyone affect decrease during exercise 
  • Vigorous & HITT went into negative affect 
  • Cont moderate, still positive affect 
  • New exercises, when prescribing intensity is something to consider 
  • Treadmill walking at mod & high intensity 
  • Moderate & vigorous went down during 
  • Afterwards both went up (rebound effect)
  • After exercise feel better regardless of exercise intensity 

  
• Influence of Exercise Intensity on Affect - Part 1

  • There is no universal level of intensity that produces the most positive affect 
  • The relationship is more complex than that 
  • Got to do w/ interpretation & appraisal 
  • Affect is influenced by how people interpret the exercise 
  • ie cognitive appraisal 

  
• Influence of Exercise Intensity on Affect - Part 2

  • Appraisal of physiological responses:
  • Eg HR, breathing, temp 
  • How we appraise that influences how effects affect 
  • Appraisal of psychological factors:
  • Ability (can I keep going?)
  • Motivation (what’s my why?) - motives
  • Appraisals are influenced by previous experiences

  
• Influence of Exercise Intensity on Affect - Part 3

  • Appraisals are influenced by previous experiences
  • Increased experience & understanding of exercise responses = more positive appraisals = more positive affect 
  • Also for affective forecasting 
  • At higher intensities, physiological responses dominate 
  • & your appraisal of them 
  • Important to have someone help appraise them in a positive way for general pop

  
• Should We Prescribe Intensity? Part 1

  • Self-selected intensity: Most people choose an intensity that is physiologically beneficial & most feel good 
  • Don’t need to tell them 
  • Usually select intensity that is good for them 
  • Affect can decrease if you get your prescription wrong by 10% 
  • Make sure get people to self-select their intensity 
  • Want population moving (for general pop)
  • Rather than prescribe a specific intensity, ask people to exercise to feel good

  
• Should We Prescribe Intensity? Part 2

  • Rather than prescribe a specific intensity, ask people to exercise to feel good
  • This benefits both acute affect & long term motivation (choice, enjoyment) 
  • More on that next week 
  • Autonomous motivation (sense of control/freedom) - more likely to do & stick to exercise 
  • Reminded to feel good → FS more positive, intensity the same (64-75% HR max)
  • Zenko (2020): Control vs Reminded to feel good; those reminded felt better (better effect)

  
• Affective Forecasting 

  • Thinking about how you will feel in an upcoming situation, which influences decision making 
  • With experience our forecast may get more accurate 
  • With experience most (but not everybody) feel better at the same intensity 
  • Effects if keep coming back or not

  
• Affective Forecasting 

  • Thinking about how you will feel in an upcoming situation, which influences decision making 
  • I think I feel good or bad 
  • If think I feel bad - don’t want to go 
  • With experience our forecast may get more accurate 
  • Report forecasting across multiple sessions 
  • Get more accurate as go on (positive feedback loop)
  • With experience most (but not everybody) feel ‘better’ at the same intensity 
  • Lots of individual variation in affective forecasting 
  • Have different experiences 
  • Effects if keep coming back or not

  
• Influencing Affective Forecasting - Part 1

  • 2 groups of new exercises 
  • Group 1: Increasing intensity 
  • Group 2: Decreasing intensity 
  • Group 1 experienced decreased pleasure as intensity increased 
  • Decreased affect 
  • Less pleasure as session went on 
  • Group 2 experienced increased pleasure as intensity decreased 
  • Plus… Group 2 reported higher post-exercise pleasure & enjoyment & forecasted pleasure for up to a week after

  
• xInfluencing Affective Forecasting - Part 2

  • 2 groups of new exercises 
  • Group 1: Increasing intensity 
  • Group 2: Decreasing intensity 
  • Physiologically, very similar benefits (eg mean heart rate etc)
  • Psychologically, different outcomes
  • Longer lasting affect (Group 2)
  • Consequences for long term motivation in new exercisers?
  • Want them to finish on a high & remember exercise as a positive experience 
  • But does this happen in the real world?
  • External validity - would you do it in real world 
  • Do you push or taper off your intensity?