Auna Allen

KIN 439: Exercise Psychology

Prof. Deshaw
May 8, 2020
Writing Prompt

As a psychology student, the theories and principles I have learned in this class have helped me better

understand how they are applicable in real life. Moving forward I believe I will not only take the concepts

learned to better apply my knowledge in class, but to make key lifestyle changes. Not only will these concepts

affect my life choices, but I will hopefully be able to help influence others around me with the knowledge that I

have learned.

Behavioral Theory

One of the concepts that stood out to me was the behavioral theory. This theory was a proposal of

explanation as to why a behavior phenomenon occurs. There can be many different factors that play a role in

increasing physical activity in individuals. To better understand how this applies to real life, it is important to

understand how we are affected by these factors that increase our physical activity levels. The book laid out

five key factors that influence our behavior. Demographic factors such as sex, age, income, and occupation are

shown to influence the level of activity. This is important because it helps us understand why some individuals

in low SES communities may not be as active. This factor stood out to me greatly because it is very

eye-opening. Another factor mentioned is psychological factors that can play a role in physical activity levels.

Psychological factors such as attitude beliefs, values, self-efficacy, intention, and self-motivation are very

influential factors. For instance, we know that self-efficacy theory was proposed by Bandura and its intention

was to show how individuals form perceptions in their ability to engage in specific behaviors. Self-efficacy can

be influenced by verbal communications, past performance accomplishments, psychological states, and

vicarious experiences. This theory is very useful in understanding how it affects individuals. The abundance in

literature also gives us a wide variety of research findings to support the idea that self-efficacy increases
physical activity levels. Moving forward I now better understand how self-efficacy can increase my own

activity level. If I believe in myself to complete a workout plan, I will be more likely to do so because of higher

self-efficacy. Understanding your own self-efficacy is very important, and I now know more because of what I

have learned in class. For example, I now understand how important verbal support is. If I did not have a close

friend pushing me to be my best self I might not be as focused on completing my workouts.

Theoretical Foundations

Continuing on with the other factors that affect influencing physical activity it is important to recognize

how the environment plays a role. Climate and social support can influence and individual’s physical activity

levels in many different ways. For instance, if an individual lives in a warm climate they might utilize the

outdoors more which will contribute to increased physical activity. If our community and environment are safe

than we are more likely to exercise there. Furthermore, Social support is also found to increase physical activity

levels because humans are social beings. In class, we broke this down into theoretical foundations. The

microsystem which is the smallest, is you're in immediate and close ties such as work, school, and home life.

Next, is the mesosystem which is interactions between those systems. We then can continue on to the ecosystem

which is our outside environment. For example, the school board or policies or curriculums that encourage

physical activity. Lastly, is the macrosystem which is the biggest. This system consists of our cultural norms,

economic patterns, social conditions, and policies. These factors play a role in affecting physical activity in

individuals because they are great influences. Research had suggested that intrapersonal motivation is low when

compared to interpersonal, which would be social support.

Social Approach

To further understand how social support can play a role in increasing physical activity this

social-ecological model can help interpret these research findings. This model recognizes there are many levels

of influence on health behavior. The physical environment, community, society, and government policies can be

very influential on an individual. This concept is very important to me because it gives me a basis to work off
of. If I choose a physical environment to live in that has recreational areas, I will be more likely to be physically

active.

Another concept that is important is a social approach that helps structure an individual's social

environment to help support physical activity. This concept helped me understand how creating social

environments can be tough for some individuals. Creating new social support can be difficult for individuals

trying to break habits or get rid of unhealthy relationships with individuals who do not care about healthy

lifestyles. This social approach gave me the correct strategy to help build a strong social support system.

Bringing people together who want to exercise has been shown to be positively correlated to physical activity. I

now know if I have a workout buddy encouraging me to work out, I will be more likely to do so. Using these

strategies, I can now give others advice on how to structure and develop support for healthy habits.

Overall, this class has given me the information I need to better increase my physical activity levels. I

now understand how many different factors can influence physical activity levels. It was very interesting for me

to find that these factors come in many different shapes and sizes. From the physically built environment, social

support, and intrapersonal psychological factors I now have the knowledge to pursue a healthy lifestyle. I think

this class should be required for all individuals struggling with motivation to be healthy. We not only covered

how to influence physical activity but how great the benefits of these activities are. From understanding

self-determination theory to developing strong social support systems all of the information is there to help

individuals form healthy habits.