Abstract:
Exercise self-efficacy beliefs exert significant influence on the self-regulation of exercise behaviour. With exercise experience, exercise self-efficacy beliefs may manifest automaticity. The aims of this research were to investigate whether exercise self-efficacy beliefs manifest the automaticity properties of efficiency, unintentionality, uncontrollability and non-consciousness, in high and low exercise-experience individuals and to assess whether exercise self-efficacy beliefs and exercise self-regulation are automatically associated. In addition, Study 1 explored the association between automatic and non-automatic measures of exercise self-efficacy and exercise disengagement. Study 2 explored whether automatic activation of exercise self-efficacy beliefs influenced non-automatic processing of exercise self-efficacy appraisals. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) was used as the theoretical framework for explaining these processes. Study 1 (N=124) used response latencies in two conditions (no-memory load, memory load) to investigate the speed of processing and immunity from interference components of efficiency, for self versus the average other person, yes judgements of exercise self-efficacy and exercise disengagement, in high and low exercise-experience individuals. Results revealed that for all participants, compared with other judgments, self judgements were faster and thus are processed efficiently. For high exercise-experience participants, compared with other judgments, self judgements of Schedule, Barrier and Coping efficacy were faster and therefore are processed efficiently. For low exercise-experience participants, compared with other judgments, self judgements of Exercise Disengagement were faster and therefore are were processed efficiently. For high and low exercise-experience participants, the equivalent speed of processing self and other judgements of Emotion efficacy indicated that these appraisals were processed non-automatically. For high and low exercise-experience participants, equivalent effects of a memory load task for self and other judgments of Schedule, Barrier and Coping efficacy, indicated that these appraisals were immune from interference. For high and low exercise-experience participants, self and other yes judgments of Emotion efficacy and Exercise Disengagement were faster in the no-memory load condition compared with the memory load condition, suggesting that these judgments are susceptible to interference. Weak-to moderate associations between automatic and non-automatic measures of exercise self-efficacy appraisals indicate that these measures tap distinct aspects of representations of exercise self-efficacy. But, these measure tap unrelated aspects of Exercise Disengagement. Study 2 (N=186) used subliminal and supraliminal priming and a diary task to investigate unintentionality, uncontrollability and non-consciousness of exercise self-efficacy beliefs in high and low exercise-experience individuals, and to assess whether exercise self-efficacy beliefs and exercise self-regulation are automatically associated. Participants in the prime conditions were primed with exercise self-efficacy stimuli. For high and low exercise-experience participants in the prime conditions, priming led to automaticity of low exercise self-efficacy and dysfunctional exercise self-regulation strategies compared with the control condition. For high exercise-experience participants in the supraliminal prime condition priming led to automaticity of high exercise self-efficacy beliefs, functional exercise self-regulation strategies and self-efficacy beliefs compared with the control condition. The findings indicated that exercise self-efficacy and exercise self-regulation strategies are automatically associated. For high exercise-experience participants in the prime conditions, priming led to automatic activation of representations of exercise and self-regulation compared with the control condition. For low exercise-experience participants in the subliminal prime condition, priming led to automaticity of self-efficacy beliefs and work-related concerns compared with the control condition. For low exercise-experience participants in the supraliminal prime condition priming led to automatic activation of an appraisal mindset compared with the control condition. Priming did not influence exercise disengagement, but low exercise exercise-experience participants disengage from exercise more often, relative to high exercise-experience participants. These findings extend automaticity research of higher order self-regulation processes to include exercise self-efficacy beliefs and suggest that self-regulation of exercise behaviour can occur automatically.