1. The Effects of Social Pressures on Exercise Motivation and Performance
Presented by: Charlie Lawver
Mentor: Dr. Judith Foy
Field of Study: Psychology

2. Why is this even important?
In Society Today
There are more factors present in our world that encourage lack of health
(television, mobile devices, decrease in nutrition)
Less motivation to live healthy lifestyles
Is there an easy/efficient solution to encourage exercise for the general public?
If exercise is viewed as social  more people needed  more people doing it

3. More People = More Enjoyment?
Humans are social beings (Laird et al., 2016). Assuming all people enjoy the company of others Activities done with others are “more fun” than when done alone

4. HYPOTHESIS Less fun  More fun! 
People do find more enjoyment in the company of others, and so exercising in pairs or groups will improve individual motivation to exercise and exercise performance.
Less fun 
More fun! 
Photoshelter. [Photograph]. Retrieved from:
Holmes, Dan. Michigan Runner Girl. [Photograph]. Retrieved from:

5. My Variables
Independent: Number of “exercise partners” Dependent: Exercise performance/motivation

6. Study Design ABAC Baseline  1st Level  Baseline  2nd Level
Returning to baseline improves validity
There is more reason to determine causation

7. The Study
Baseline Participants exercise alone First Level Participants exercise with one other person Second Level Participants exercise with two other people

8. Measures/Data to Collect
Record daily times (in minutes) each participant spends exercising. Only record times for participants, not exercise partners’ Send participants a survey to take after each treatment period Questions regard what kinds of exercise they performed and how well they think they did in regards to having partners or not.

9. Results Happy/Social Fit/Healthy
Pinterest. [Photograph].
The Society Pages. [Photograph].

10. References
Conroy DE, Elavsky S, Hyde AL, Doerksen SE. The Dynamic Nature of Physical Activity Intentions: A Within-Person Perspective on Intention-Behavior Coupling. Journal of sport & exercise psychology. 2011; 33(6):
Dishman R.K., McIver K.L., Dowda M., Saunders R.P., Pate R.R. Motivation and Behavioral Regulation of Physical Activity in Middle-School Students. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 2015; 47(9):
Feltz D.L., Kerr N.L., and Irwin B.C. Buddy Up: The Köhler Effect Applied to Health Games. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 2011, 33,
Hug S.M., Hartig T., Hansmann R., Seeland K., Hornung R. Restorative qualities of indoor and outdoor exercise settings as predictors of exercise frequency. Health and Place. 15 (2009)
Laird, Y., Fawkner, S., Kelly, P., McNamee, L., & Niven, A. (2016). The role of social support on physical activity behaviour in adolescent girls: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The International Journal Of Behavioral Nutrition And Physical Activity, 13.
Phillips, L. A., & Gardner, B. (2016). Habitual exercise instigation (vs. execution) predicts healthy adults’ exercise frequency. Health Psychology, 35(1),
Rodgers W. M., Hall C. R., Blanchard C. M., McAuley E. & Munroe K. J. Task and Scheduling Self-efficacy as Predictors of Exercise Behavior, Psychology & Health, 2002, 17:4,
Rovniak, L.S., Anderson, E.S., Winett, R.A. Social cognitive determinants of physical activity in young adults: A prospective structural equation analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. (2002) 24: 149.
Thoman, D.B., Sansone, C. & Pasupathi, M. Talking about interest: exploring the role of social interaction for regulating motivation and the interest experience. Journal of Happiness Studies. 2007, 8(3),
Zhang, N., Campo, S., Yang, J., Janz, K. F., Snetselaar, L. G., & Eckler, P. (2015). Effects of social support about physical activity on social networking sites: Applying the theory of planned behavior. Health Communication, 30(12),