12.7: Measuring Affective Responses in an Exercise Setting- An Example Vignette Revisited
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Now it is time to return to the vignette featuring our friends, Pat and Terry, from the start of the chapter. In contrast to the previous vignette, the following example highlights evidence-based principles and techniques of the measurement of affective responses to exercise that should be emulated. It is important to acknowledge that these are not the only ways to measure affective responses to exercise.Instead, our goal is to demonstrate how to carefully consider measurement choices based on the best evidence currently available.
12.7.1. Better Measurement Technique
Pat walked into the student fitness center, with the excitement of a new semester, and the goal to start an exercise program to improve his health. Pat is 19 years old and has never been a regular exerciser. In fact, Pat perceives the fitness center as if it were an alien planet. Pat meets with his personal trainer, Terry, a senior exercise and sport science major. Terry wears comfortable exercise attire that does not overly accentuate his figure. In addition to assessing Pat's health history, cardiorespiratory fitness, and muscular fitness, Terry mentions that he is interested in measuring how Pat feels during exercise.
Terry: We’re going to measure your affective responses to exercise.
Pat: Affective responses? What does that mean?
Terry: We’re going to find out how exercise makes you feel. Specifically, I am interested in core affect, and I will be assessing how the pleasure and displeasure that you experience during exercise changes from moment-to-moment. At some moments, you may feel better, and at other times, you may feel worse.
Pat: This sounds interesting. What do you need me to do?
Terry: I will be administering the Feeling Scale (Hardy & Rejeski, 1989) multiple times, before, during, and after you exercise. This will allow me to have a more comprehensive understanding of your affective experience.
Pat: Why are we using the Feeling Scale (Hardy & Rejeski, 1989)?
Terry: That is a great question. Although there are many potential measures available, I am adopting the conceptualization of core affect proposed by Russell and colleagues (Russell, 1980, Russell & Barrett, 1999). This suggests that core affect is comprised of two distinct dimensions, namely affective valence, which is a bipolar dimension ranging from displeasure to pleasure(Russell & Carroll, 1999), and activation or arousal. Since I am most interested in the pleasure and displeasure that you experience, I will be using a measure that corresponds to this dimension. The measure ranges from very bad to very good and appears to have acceptable psychometric properties in people your age. It also has practical strengths that make it acceptable for our purposes. If I was interested in measuring a distinct mood state, such as your level of depression, I would take an entirely different approach.
Before Pat begins exercising, Terry reads the standardized instructions of the Feeling Scale to Pat and checks for comprehension. During the exercise session, a few classmates came to the fitness center and this made Pat feel uncomfortable, judged, and discouraged. Pat felt social-physique anxiety, embarrassment, shame, and guilt when others were present (for further reading about these concepts, see Chapter 7; Vani et al., 2021). Terry made note of this observation, and when analyzing Pat’s affective responses, Terry discovered that Pat reported pleasure during exercise until the classmates joined. Thankfully, the multiple assessments of affective valence allowed Terry to identify this pattern. In the presence of classmates, Pat’s showed increasingly unpleasant affective responses. In addition to considering how the exercise stimulus itself made Pat feel, Terry considered the environmental and social context of the exercise session (i.e., exercising in the presence of others). Terry made another appointment with Pat so that his affective responses to exercise could be assessed in a private setting. Terry was careful not to assume that every one of his clients would have a similar pattern of affective responses to exercise. Terry recognized that, unlike Pat, others may thrive and relish the opportunity to "show off"while exercising in front of others.