Abstract
Canada's Physical Activity Guide recommends taking part in endurance, flexibility and strength activities each week to stay healthy. How these types of physical activity relate to social cognitive variables is unknown. According to Bandura, engaging in behavior involves expectations about the outcome of the behavior, and expectations of one's ability to do the behavior. For example, in strength training, self-efficacy is shown to be positively and moderately related to outcome expectancies. The purpose of this research was to examine how endurance, flexibility, and strength activities relate to exercise self-efficacy or outcome expectancies. Participants (N=730) named preferred activities, which were coded as endurance, flexibility, or strength. Participants self-reported height, weight, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancies. Results showed significant relationships between body mass index (BMI) and self-efficacy, F (2, 721) = 3.196, p<0.05, and outcome expectancies, F (2, 721) = 4.455, p<0.05, and between preferred activity and outcome expectancies, F (2, 721) = 4.979, p<0.05. There was also a significant interaction between BMI and preferred activity and outcome expectancies, F (4, 721) = 2.679, p<0.05. Overweight participants who preferred strength activities had the highest outcome expectancies. This helps to inform why people of different body weights may take part in different activities.
