Self-presentation and communication in physical activity settings

Abstract

This chapter focuses on physical activity, and specifically sport and exercise, as one particular sphere of social life where self-presentational processes have been implicated in communication. It aims to explicitly discuss self-presentation in physical activity settings as a communicative process and to elaborate on some of the implications involved in taking this view. The chapter represents a somewhat novel direction regarding self-presentation within physical activity, many of the ideas that we present represent prospective lines of research that are, as yet, under-developed or unexplored in physical activity settings. It discusses practical implications of contemporary self-presentation research for: self-presenters and interventionists. The chapter provides a starting point for researchers to more fully consider links between self-presentation and communication in physical activity settings. Within physical activity settings, there has been little attention devoted to communicative aspects of self-presentation. Instead, researchers have largely focused on prospective links between self-presentational motives, processes, and physical activity behavior.