Promoting approach under unavoidable evaluation in university physical education: A randomized controlled trial of a...

Evaluative physical education (PE) settings can elicit withdrawal, particularly among students high in social physique anxiety (SPA). Yet it remains unclear whether behavior can be changed when evaluative cues cannot be removed. In a randomized controlled trial embedded in naturalistic university PE classes, undergraduates (N = 256) were assigned to a brief combined mindset reframing intervention or an active control condition. The primary outcome was a real-time choice between two task-equivalent jump-rope test routes differing in evaluative exposure. Class fixed-effects logistic regression showed that the intervention increased the likelihood of choosing the higher-exposure evaluation route (OR = 1.74, 95% CI [1.07, 2.83], p = .024). The effect was stronger among students higher in SPA: predicted evaluation-route choice increased from 51% to 64% at mean SPA and from 48% to 69% at high SPA, but only from 55% to 60% at low SPA. Exploratory analyses were consistent with the challenge-threat framework: the intervention was associated with higher perceived resources and lower perceived demands, both linked to greater evaluation-route choice. These findings suggest that brief cognitive reframing can promote behavioral approach under unavoidable evaluation in PE, especially among students most vulnerable to evaluative threat.