Motivation
What keeps people from sticking to exercise programs?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
People who start exercising hoping to socialize are more likely to stick with it long-term, while those expecting immediate pleasure are more likely to quit.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
A behavioural outcome over time, and the more intuitive motive predicted the worse adherence.
Which motivation people brought predicted whether they stayed. In an exercise programme where 73 of 94 participants dropped out, higher initial expectations of social interaction predicted completion while high expectations of immediate pleasure predicted quitting.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
The mediation studies and the longitudinal study support different kinds of claim. Cross-sectional self-report models report large indirect effects and cannot exclude reverse paths or common-method bias, which their own authors state; the exercise study measured dropout over time and found the motive that predicted adherence was not the one that predicts enjoyment.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
The mediation studies and the longitudinal study support different kinds of claim. Cross-sectional self-report models report large indirect effects and cannot exclude reverse paths or common-method bias, which their own authors state; the exercise study measured dropout over time and found the motive that predicted adherence was not the one that predicts enjoyment.
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What keeps people from sticking to exercise programs?
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ninety-four volunteers recruited
Ninety-four volunteers were invited to participate via personal contact and published media.
1-year duration of the training program
Participants performed a 1-year exercise program that consisted of three sessions per week for a period not exceeding 90 min per session.
Key findings
Only 21 participants completed the training, while seventy-three dropped out before the program finished. Higher initial expectations for social interaction predicted a greater chance of completing the program, while high expectations of immediate pleasure predicted a higher rate of quitting.
Methodology
Researchers recruited ninety-four sedentary volunteers for a 1-year training program with three weekly sessions lasting up to 90 minutes. Before starting, participants chose their preferred exercise type and completed questionnaires to assess their baseline motivations and expectations.
Limitations
The study cannot prove that prioritizing socializing causes better exercise adherence, as this was an observational design. Additionally, because all participants volunteered, none of them had extremely low initial motivation, meaning these findings might not apply to people forced to exercise. Finally, the researchers did not track whether the participants actually experienced socialization or pleasure during their sessions.
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