Abstract
In this study, we examined the interaction of automatic (i.e., automatic affective evaluations) and reflective [i.e., reflective intention and executive functions (EFs)] processes on physical activity (PA) behavior based on dual-process theories. We expected main effects as well as significant interaction effects between automatic associations, intention, and EFs on behavior. In particular, a well-controlled implicit-association-test (IAT) was applied to assess automatic affective evaluation. A prospective study with two points of measurement (N=212 students) was conducted. At t1, age, sex, PA behavior (control variables), automatic associations, EFs (shifting, updating, inhibition), and PA intention (predictors and moderators) were assessed with standardized questionnaires and tests. At t2 (4weeks later), PA behavior (dependent variable) was measured with a standardized questionnaire. A hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis including two- and three-way interactions between IAT results, intention, and EFs on PA behavior was conducted. Results showed that the interactions Intention x Shifting and IAT x Intention x Inhibition were significant. Moderation analyses revealed that participants with higher intentions and lower inhibition values (improved inhibition abilities) showed a negative association between IAT and PA, while those with lower intentions and lower inhibition values showed a positive association between IAT and PA, which was documented in a significant slope difference test between these two groups. Thus, both automatic and reflective processes contribute and interact in predicting PA. As well as fostering more positive affective evaluations towards PA, interventions to strengthen PA intentions and to improve EFs could help to increase PA behavior.
Highlights
Theories assume that health behavior regulation is basically related to two types of information processing: automatic processes and reflective processes
Intention was significantly correlated with physical activity (PA) at t1 (r = 0.43) and PA at t2 (r = 0.32), while PA at t1 and t2 were significantly associated (r = 0.48)
We aimed to examine the impact of PA affective evaluations, intentions, and executive functions (EFs) as predicting factors for PA in the framework of dual-process models (e.g., TABLE 1 | Means, standard deviations and correlations of control variables, predictors and the dependent variable of the study (n = 212)
Summary
Theories assume that health behavior regulation is basically related to two types of information processing: automatic processes (i.e., autonomous; independent of working memory) and reflective processes (i.e., controlled; requiring working memory; Strack and Deutsch, 2004; Hofmann et al, 2009; De Houwer and Moors, 2012; Brand and Ekkekakis, 2018; Melnikoff and Bargh, 2018). It is aimed to examine the relationship between theory-driven, well-established constructs, and to integrate them in a dual-process model of PA self-regulation (Strobach et al, 2020). It is examined how affective evaluations, representing a relevant aspect of automatic processing, as well as PA intention (i.e., the expression of motivation) and executive functions (EFs; as control mechanisms of human actions and a core component of self-regulation abilities), as relevant aspects of reflective processing, are associated with PA behavior. We explain how automatic and reflective processes regulate, control, and coordinate such behavior
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