Exercise, physical activity, and self-determination theory: A systematic review

By P. Teixeira, E. Carraça, D. Markland, M. Silva, Richard M. Ryan. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2012

2,730 citations recorded by the source corpus.

BackgroundMotivation is a critical factor in supporting sustained exercise, which in turn is associated with important health outcomes. Accordingly, research on exercise motivation from the perspective of self-determination theory (SDT) has grown considerably in recent years. Previous reviews have been mostly narrative and theoretical. Aiming at a more comprehensive review of empirical data, this article examines the empirical literature on the relations between key SDT-based constructs and exercise and physical activity behavioral outcomes.MethodsThis systematic review includes 66 empirical studies published up to June 2011, including experimental, cross-sectional, and prospective studies that have measured exercise causality orientations, autonomy/need support and need satisfaction, exercise motives (or goal contents), and exercise self-regulations and motivation. We also studied SDT-based interventions aimed at increasing exercise behavior. In all studies, actual or self-reported exercise/physical activity, including attendance, was analyzed as the dependent variable. Findings are summarized based on quantitative analysis of the evidence.ResultsThe results show consistent support for a positive relation between more autonomous forms of motivation and exercise, with a trend towards identified regulation predicting initial/short-term adoption more strongly than intrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation being more predictive of long-term exercise adherence. The literature is also consistent in that competence satisfaction and more intrinsic motives positively predict exercise participation across a range of samples and settings. Mixed evidence was found concerning the role of other types of motives (e.g., health/fitness and body-related), and also the specific nature and consequences of introjected regulation. The majority of studies have employed descriptive (i.e., non-experimental) designs but similar results are found across cross-sectional, prospective, and experimental designs.ConclusionOverall, the literature provides good evidence for the value of SDT in understanding exercise behavior, demonstrating the importance of autonomous (identified and intrinsic) regulations in fostering physical activity. Nevertheless, there remain some inconsistencies and mixed evidence with regard to the relations between specific SDT constructs and exercise. Particular limitations concerning the different associations explored in the literature are discussed in the context of refining the application of SDT to exercise and physical activity promotion, and integrating these with avenues for future research.

Subfields: Applied Psychology, Physiology, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/91c1a302b1ba3d78f18d769090d5c285c36d9567

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Citations in the corpus

Effective behaviour change techniques for physical activity and healthy eating in overweight and obese adults; systematic review and meta-regression analyses (2017, background): “If counselling is performed in a person centred and autonomous supporting manner, the participants’ self-regulatory strength may be renewed by developing a genuine appreciation of healthy food, and development of autonomy (sense of choice, feeling volitionally), and internalization of the new behavi”
Designing for Motivation, Engagement and Wellbeing in Digital Experience (2018, methodology): “The instruments described herein have been used in various contexts, for example to assess to what extent a medical professional (Williams et al., 2009), healthcare intervention (Williams et al., 2011; Teixeira et al., 2012) or a procedure (Ng et al., 2012) supports autonomy.”
Successful behavior change in obesity interventions in adults: a systematic review of self-regulation mediators (2015, result): “A recent meta-analysis [90] and other reviews provide empirical support for both the SDT motivation model and the association of autonomous motivation with health behavior change in different areas [91].”
The Impact of COVID-19 on Physical Activity Behavior and Well-Being of Canadians (2020, background): “Individual psychological factors include such factors as confidence and perceived competence [4], while the social environment is inclusive of emotional and logistical support from the home, and lastly the physical environment is inclusive of access to low cost recreational opportunities and outdoor”
Theories of physical activity behaviour change: A history and synthesis of approaches (2019, background): “The hypothesized relationships between physical activity with psychological need satisfaction as well as self-determined motivation has been evident across a range of populations (Teixeira et al., 2012).”
Motivating voluntary compliance to behavioural restrictions: Self-determination theory–based checklist of principles for COVID-19 and other emergency communications (2021, background): “…studies have generally supported the importance of autonomy-supportive strategies for successful outcomes in health-related behaviour (Gillison et al., 2019; Ntoumanis et al., 2020), exercise and physical activity (Teixeira et al., 2012), and diabetes prevention (Phillips & Guarnaccia, 2020).”
Can the Affective Response to Exercise Predict Future Motives and Physical Activity Behavior? A Systematic Review of Published Evidence (2015, background): “For example, intrinsic regulation (behavioral engagement for reasons of pleasure) and affective attitude (expectations of enjoyment, fun, pleasure) within self-determination theory [20] and variants of the theory of planned behavior, respectively, have shown predictive effects on physical activity [”