Kimberley A. Dawson

An Exploratory Investigation of the Relationship between Proxy Efficacy, Self-efficacy and Exercise Attendance:

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between perceptions of self-efficacy, proxy efficacy, and exercise class attendance of participants involved in a 10-week structured group fitness program. At week 3, 127 females completed measures of self-efficacy and proxy efficacy and their class attendance was monitored for the subsequent four weeks. Self-efficacy was assessed through measures of exercise, scheduling, and barrier self-efficacy. Proxy efficacy was assessed through a measure of fitness instructor efficacy defined as participants’ confidence in their fitness instructors’ communication, teaching, and motivating capabilities. Results revealed positive correlations between self-efficacy variables and proxy efficacy. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that among those who were classified as exercise initiates (n = 33), self-efficacy and proxy efficacy accounted for 34 percent of the variance in exercise class attendance with the latter variable explaining a unique 12 percent. Consistent with theorizing, these preliminary findings indicate that for instructor-led, group physical activities such as aerobics classes, proxy efficacy perceptions are related to self-efficacy and may also be an important predictor of exercise behavior.

Physical Fitness, Adulthood

Physical fitness (consisting of cardiopulmonary capacity, muscle strength and endurance, and flexibility) is one of the keys to a longer, healthier, happier life; and regular exercise is one of the most important keys to physical fitness and the prevention of a host of physical and psychological problems. This entry provides a summary of research on the prediction of exercise behavior and on interventions designed to facilitate the initiation and maintenance of regular exercise. It is not concerned with research on the relationship between specific types of exercise and specific aspects of physical fitness but with research on how to motivate people to do whatever they have already decided they should do to improve their physical fitness. The research on the prediction of exercise is considerable, but the research on the effectiveness of interventions to encourage exercise is scant. Therefore, much of what this entry suggests for facilitating the initiation and maintenance of regular exercise is based as much on prediction research as on intervention research.