Abstract
Research on physical activity (PA) motivation commonly analyzes the content (Dwyer, 1992) and quality (Ryan & Deci, 2002) of singular reasons for involvement. However, possessing a greater number of personally important motives may also foster commitment (Kruglanski et al., 2013) to PA. This study explored the relationship between the number of personally important motives and measures of PA commitment and lapses, and whether such associations varied depending on whether people were enrolled in exercise/sport contexts. 246 (MAge = 47.20; range = 35-57yrs) self-identified sportspersons (n=105) and exercisers (n=141) completed online questionnaires for PA motives (EMI-2; Markland & Ingledew, 1997), commitment (Scanlan et al., 1993), lapses (Simkin & Gross, 1994), and recent PA (SQUASH; Wendel-Vos et al., 2003). Using EMI-2 responses, and applying within-context normative criteria to each individual, we determined distributions for the number of important motives held by sportspersons and exercisers. Hierarchical regressions examined if participants’ number of motives related to commitment levels, and odds of lapsing, with interactive terms used to determine if these relationships differed between sportspersons and exercisers. Number of motives (B= .27, p < .001) related to commitment (R2= .15, p < .001) equally in sport and exercise, and more strongly than participants’ average past activity involvement (B= .13, p = .009). In a separate regression, number of motives showed no association with lapses (p = .14). Results are discussed as they relate to the value focus tenet of multifinality theory (Kruglanski et al., 2013) and participatory reward structures (Wiltermuth & Gino, 2013).
