Living for Today or Tomorrow? Self-Regulation amidst Proximal or Distal Exercise Outcomes.

Abstract

Although health promotion efforts to increase exercise behavior often emphasise long-term outcomes, sustained action in service of a distal reward is challenging. These studies examined how focusing on the proximal benefits of exercise, compared to distal outcomes or more general outcomes, may strengthen individuals' self-regulatory self-efficacy and support physical activity or exercise behavior. Participants in Study 1 (N=1057 community members) completed an online survey. Participants in Study 2 (N=69 students) and Study 3 (N=107 students) experienced experimental manipulations related to proximal or distal outcomes of exercise, and then completed survey measures. In Study 4, new members at a commercial gym (N=210) completed a survey and had check-ins recorded over 17weeks. In Study 1, participants who ranked proximal outcomes of exercise as relatively more important than distal outcomes reported more frequent physical activity. In Studies 2 and 3, participants induced to focus on proximal outcomes reported increased self-regulatory self-efficacy. In Study 4, valuing proximal benefits predicted sustained exercise behavior (i.e. check-ins), particularly when fitness goal adherence felt difficult. Those holding increased proximal outcome beliefs reported more activity and greater efficacy to overcome the barriers that derail exercise.