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Examining the Relationships Among Cognitive Acceptance, Behavioral Commitment, Autonomous Extrinsic Motivation, and
Matthew Jenkins1, Elaine A Hargreaves1, Ken Hodge1
1University of Otago.
Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology
|March 10, 2020
Summary
Cognitive acceptance and behavioral commitment foster autonomous motivation for physical activity (PA). These factors indirectly influence PA behavior through enhanced autonomous motivation, highlighting their importance for promoting exercise.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Exercise Science
- Motivation Psychology
Background:
- Understanding the psychological drivers of physical activity (PA) is crucial for public health.
- Existing research highlights motivation's role, but the interplay between cognitive and behavioral factors needs further exploration.
- Autonomous motivation is particularly important for sustained engagement in health behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationships between cognitive acceptance, behavioral commitment, psychological need satisfaction, and autonomous extrinsic motivation (EM) for PA.
- To examine how these psychological constructs predict self-reported PA behavior.
- To elucidate the mediating roles of psychological needs and autonomous EM in the pathway to PA.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional online survey administered to 456 adult participants (mean age = 40.7 years).
- Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the complex relationships among measured variables.
- Key variables included cognitive acceptance, behavioral commitment, psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, relatedness), autonomous EM, and self-reported PA.
Main Results:
- Behavioral commitment directly predicted autonomous EM, with indirect effects mediated by autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
- Cognitive acceptance indirectly influenced autonomous EM via competence and autonomy satisfaction, but not directly.
- Cognitive acceptance directly predicted self-reported PA, with indirect effects via autonomous EM; behavioral commitment did not directly predict PA but did indirectly via autonomous EM.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive acceptance and behavioral commitment appear to be important antecedents for developing autonomous extrinsic motivation for physical activity.
- Psychological need satisfaction mediates the relationship between commitment/acceptance and autonomous motivation.
- While cognitive acceptance directly relates to PA, both cognitive acceptance and behavioral commitment influence PA behavior indirectly through autonomous motivation, underscoring the need for further causal research.
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