Memory of affective responses to physical activity (study 1) and a pilot intervention to reduce negative memory bias...

Automatic, affective processing of exercise can influence exercise behavior. Study 1 compared regular exercisers (≥150 min/wk) and non-exercisers (<30 min/wk) on affective responses, memory of these responses, and anticipated response to future exercise. Study 2 pilot-tested a brief intervention for non-exercisers to improve exercise-related affect and memory bias (i.e., discrepancy between remembered and experienced affect).

59 weight-loss seeking individuals with overweight/obesity (Age = 47.1 ± 10.3 years; BMI = 32.1 ± 3.3 kg/m²; 79.7 % Female; 91.5 % White) completed two sessions of moderate-intensity walking for 30 min. Participants reported anticipated affect prior to exercise and affective response before, during, and after exercise. On days 1, 3, and 7 following the exercise session, remembered affect was assessed to determine possible memory bias. In Study 2, the non-exercisers were randomly assigned to an affect-based intervention (n = 15) or comparator condition (n = 15) and completed a third exercise session.

In Study 1, negative memory bias was present in both exercisers and non-exercisers, but was greater among non-exercisers (p = 0.04). For both groups, remembered affect more closely resembled post-exercise affect (versus 'during'; p = 0.001). Exercisers anticipated feeling better during exercise compared to non-exercisers (p = 0.002), with a similar trend for anticipated 'post-exercise' affect (p = 0.073). In Study 2, non-exercisers receiving the affect-based intervention demonstrated significantly less memory bias (p = 0.04) and more positive affect post-exercise (p = 0.05).

Both exercisers and non-exercisers experienced negative memory bias toward prior exercise, which was greater in non-exercisers. A pilot intervention to reduce negative memory bias and improve exercise-related affect among non-exercisers showed promise, warranting further study of these novel intervention targets.