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Spring, 2015 Master’s thesis, 30 credits The program for Master of Science in Psychology oriented toward Sports, 300 credits Supervisor: Marius Sommer, PhD Assisting supervisor: Peter Hassmén, Professor
Motivation behind young women’s excessive exercise A qualitative study from a Self-‐determination perspective
Karin Johansson and Valeria Sjöbom
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MOTIVATION BEHIND YOUNG WOMEN’S EXCESSIVE EXERCISE A QUALITATIVE STUDY FROM A SELF-‐DETERMINATION PERSPECTIVE
Karin Johansson and Valeria Sjöbom
Exercise is an important part of well-‐being. However, when performed excessively, it can lead to negative consequences such as anxiety, depression and feelings of guilt. This study aimed to qualitatively investigate what motivational regulations, defined by the Self-‐determination theory, that may provide an insight into why young women engage in excessive exercise. Data from seven participants was analyzed through a thematic analysis and resulted in four themes: Exercise affected by social influence, Ambivalence toward the amount of exercise, Benefits of exercise and Exercise affecting the sense of self. All of the motivational regulations belonged to the extrinsic type of motivation, ranging from external to integrated regulation, with social influence and health benefits being the most frequently mentioned reasons for exercise. Also, the informants were able to explain why they exercise, but less so in regard to the amount of exercise. Träning är en förutsättning för välbefinnande. När träning utförs i en överdriven mängd kan det dock leda till negativa konsekvenser som ångest, depression och skuldkänslor. Syftet med denna studie var att kvalitativt undersöka vilka motivationsregleringar definierade av Självbestämmande teori som kan ge en inblick i varför unga kvinnor tränar i en överdriven omfattning. Materialet från sju deltagare analyserades genom en tematisk analys och resulterade i fyra teman: Social påverkan på träning, Ambivalens till träningsmängden, Fördelar med träning och Träning påverkar uppfattningen om sig själv. Alla motivationsregleringar tillhörde den yttre typen av motivation och sträckte sig från extern till integrerad reglering, där social påverkan och hälsofördelar var de mest frekvent nämnda anledningarna till träning. Informanterna kunde ge en förklaring till varför de tränar, men inte avseende deras träningsmängd. To achieve and maintain good health, physical activity and exercise is a necessary part of an individual’s life (WHO, 2010). To achieve physiological and psychological health benefits, the recommended weekly amount of physical activity is 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous-‐intensity activity. Regarding muscle-‐strengthening activities, the recommendation is two or more days a week that includes major muscle groups (WHO, 2010). Despite the numerous benefits of physical exercise, these benefits will not increase to an unlimited extent. This means that if the amount of exercise increases too much, the benefits will not increase accordingly. Rather, it can create reverse effects and even health risks (Peterson, Rhea & Alvar, 2005). While most research is focused on the benefits of physical activity, the potentially harmful elements of too much exercise are seldom brought to attention, even though recognized by experts. Excessive exercise can have both physiological and psychological negative effects related to injuries, changes in mood, depression and anxiety when unable to exercise (Landolfini, 2013; Edmunds, Ntoumanis & Duda, 2006). Excessive exercise can also have a negative impact on social life and affect relationships negatively (Fortiell & Farrell, 2009). When exercise becomes inflexible and rigid, it is a potential threat to the physiological and psychological health (Hall, Kerr, Kozub & Finnie, 2007). There are a growing number of people who engage in excessive exercise, referred to as “elite-‐exercisers” (Nimbratt, 2013). Excessive exercise can be perceived as when an individual is engaging in high levels of physical activity and develops an unhealthy attitude toward it, which impairs the individual's general functioning. The excessive exercisers can have a different mindset compared to the “healthy” exercisers and show an over-‐commitment to exercise (Fortiell & Farrell, 2009). This unhealthy over-‐commitment has been defined as a compulsion, an addiction, or dependence. Despite
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several attempts to operationalize excessive exercise, no consensus has been reached (Johnston, Reilly & Kremer, 2011). It has been argued that excessive exercise cannot simply be defined by behaviors, such as the duration or frequency of exercise being performed (Hall et al., 2007). In addition to the duration and frequency, it is also important to take into consideration the motivation, the rigidity and the compulsion of these behaviors. A broad definition has been suggested to outline the concept of excessive exercise: “engagement in exercise which is carried out to an excessive degree and which is associated with psychological and physiological risks” (Johnston et al., 2011, p. 238). In this study, excessive exercise is based on this definition and thought of as greatly exceeding the recommended amount of exercise, meaning exercising for at least an hour seven times or more in a week. Self-‐determination theory The key to explain any behavior, in this case exercise, is to understand the motivation behind it. Self-‐determination theory (SDT) is one of the most frequently used theories about motivation and has been used to understand what motivates people to engage in exercise (Morenro-‐Murcia, Gimeno, Hernández, Pedreno & Marín, 2013). Within the SDT framework it is assumed that individuals are active and motivated to master challenges and to integrate new experiences into their sense of self. The theory is based on several motivational variables including social factors, basic needs and different types of motivational regulations (Deci & Ryan, 2000). As previous studies have shown, motivation to exercise behaviors can better be explained by the different types of motivational regulations within SDT (Fortiell & Farrell, 2009; Gillison, Osborn, Standage, & Skevington, 2009; Rodgers, Hall, Duncan, Pearson & Milne, 2010; Sibley, Hancock & Bergman, 2013; Sicilia, Sáenz-‐Alvarez, González-‐Cutre & Ferriz, 2014). Therefore this study specifically focus on these different types of regulations. The different types of motivation, also called motivational regulations in SDT, are placed along a continuum starting from amotivation, followed by external motivation which is the extrinsic and controlled type of motivation and ending with intrinsic motivation, which is the most autonomous type. The extrinsic motivation includes external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation and integrated regulation, ranging from being completely external to internal (Gonzáles-‐Cutre & Sicilia, 2012). The intrinsic motivation consists of intrinsic regulation and is completely internal (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Below is a brief description of these different types of motivational regulations, followed by a table illustrating it (Table 1). Amotivation When being amotivated, there are neither external-‐ nor internal motivational forces. An individual will be amotivated when not having a sense of efficacy or a sense of control in relationship to the outcome that is desired. Both the external and internal motivational types include some kind of intention and motivation, whereas amotivation lacks both of these and thereby also lacks self-‐determination for the behavior carried out (Deci & Ryan, 2000). External regulation When motivated by external regulation, an individual strives for obvious rewards or to avoid punishment. If the reward is withdrawn, or if the punishment is eliminated, the motivation will decrease (Deci & Ryan, 2000). In the context of exercise, an individual
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motivated by external regulation will be exercising to achieve some kind of reward, such as appraisal from others (Gonzáles-‐Cutre & Sicilia, 2012).
Introjected regulation
Next on the continuum is the introjected regulation, where motivation is based on the urge to avoid feelings of guilt, shame and anxiety, and a need to receive acknowledgement and self-‐confidence (Gonzáles-‐Cutre & Sicilia, 2012). With introjected regulation, the rewards and punishments are created by the individual herself, but are not part of the individual’s self. When compared to external regulation, it is more likely that the introjected regulation is being maintained over time, although it is still unstable because it is not completely internalized (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
Identified regulation Identified regulation is when the individual appreciates the benefits of the behavior, for example being aware of the health benefits of exercise (Gonzáles-‐Cutre & Sicilia, 2012). With identified regulation, the behavior is more internalized, i.e. more seen as a part of the individual’s self. An identified regulated behavior is more autonomous than the introjected regulation. However, identified regulation is still extrinsic, since the reason behind the behavior is instrumental and not considered joyful, for example exercising because it is good for your health (Deci & Ryan, 2010). Integrated regulation Next to identified regulation is integrated regulation, where the behavior is integrated into the individual’s lifestyle and identity. The behavior is then carried out in a manner that goes along with other values and needs that make up the individual’s personality (Gonzáles-‐Cutre & Sicilia, 2012). For example, perceiving being healthy as a part of one’s identity. Intrinsic regulation With intrinsic regulation, motivation comes from the joy of the activity itself (Gonzáles-‐ Cutre & Sicilia, 2012). In an exercise setting, it means working out for the joy of exercise. For an intrinsically regulated behavior to be maintained, it is important that the basic needs for autonomy and competence are met (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
Table 1. The Self-‐determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
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Numerous studies have been made from the SDT perspective on the topic of exercise. Several studies report that people who have a more self-‐determined motivation, are those who tend to exercise regularly and experience more positive physiological and psychological outcomes associated with exercise (Rodgers et al., 2010). It has been suggested that for the majority of people, identified motivation is the type that can be expected, since in reality not many enjoy exercise for its own sake, which is necessary for intrinsic motivation (Rodgers et al., 2010). It was found that for women specifically, it was important that the exercise would be intense, although they did not actually enjoy the intense exercise (Duncan, Hall, Wilson & Jenny, 2010). Rather, many seem to value exercise behavior for its positive outcomes and identified regulation seem to be sufficient to produce regular and satisfying exercise behaviors (Rodgers et al., 2010). This means that extrinsic motivation that is well-‐internalized can be as useful for performing a certain behavior, as intrinsic motivation and explains the process of staying motivated, even when the behavior inherently may not be self-‐rewarding (Wilson, Mack & Grattan, 2008). In addition to identified regulation, introjected regulation has also shown to be a predictor for regular exercise (Gillison et al., 2009). Gillison et al. found that the introjected regulation consisted of social physique anxiety and fear of weight gain among girls in their study, whereas boys’ regular exercise could better be explained by social pressure from peers. Social physique anxiety is defined as a concern about how others will judge one’s body (Sicilia et al., 2014). A link between appearance motives and exercise has also been found. It was found that in university students, the appearance motives, which are seen as introjected regulations, predicted lower fitness level and higher body fat, while intrinsic related motivation, predicted better fitness level (Sibley, Hancock & Bergman, 2013). Another study found that individuals with externally controlled motivation and with high scores on the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPA), showed the lowest physical activity and enjoyment in performing it (Cox, Ullrich-‐French & Sabiston, 2013). This is also consistent with earlier findings that individuals who are more driven by controlling forms of motivation display more negative feelings and less satisfaction (Cox et al., 2013). The study also found that high scores on SPA had different impact on individuals depending on their type of motivation. The combination of high SPA and an externally controlled motivation seem to hinder exercise, while the combination of high SPA with more autonomous motivation seems to promote exercise. Introjected regulation was more associated with autonomous motivation and thus seen as something that in combination with SPA would promote exercise. This may illustrate that feelings of guilt, that are tied to introjected regulations, can also play an adaptive role in encouraging physical activity behavior (Cox et al., 2013). A different study also found that women who reported body image concerns as a motive for exercise showed higher levels of social physique anxiety than those exercising for social reasons, health reasons, or because of exercise being fun in itself (Sicilia et al., 2014). Body image concerns and wanting to improve one’s physical appearance may be important because of the need for appraisal and social recognition from others, thereby being more externally regulated. However, after some time, it will be internalized and turn into introjected regulation (Sicilia et al., 2014). In line with this, recognition and appreciation from others, a type of external regulation, may be internalized and thus become an introjected regulation (González-‐Cutre & Sicilia, 2012).
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Having an ideal feminine body can be defined as being physically lean and thin. The ideal feminine body has become a part of the western culture and can influence women's perceptions of their bodies (Porter, Morrow & Reel, 2013). The ideal body can even be said to be something that women are held responsible to live up to; this was introduced as the term “healthism”, defined as the individual being held responsible for the shape of one’s body, weight and size (McGannon & Spence, 2012). When exercising to live up these standards, the type of regulation can be said to be either external regulation or introjected regulation, since the standards come from the society and not from the individual herself. Introjected regulation has been related to positive mental health outcomes and behaviors, such as positive affect, physical activity and a healthy diet (Ng, Ntoumanis, Thøgersen-‐Ntoumani, Deci, Ryan, Duda & Williams, 2015). However, introjected regulation has also been related to negative psychological states, such as depression and anxiety. The explanation to this is thought to be due to the fact that introjection may lead to positive health behaviors in short term, but in the long run it may be accompanied by negative psychological states such as anxiety and dissatisfaction (Ng el al., 2015). Fewer studies have specifically examined excessive exercise from a SDT perspective. Introjected regulation has been of special interest in studies made on excessive exercise and exercise dependence. This is because introjected regulation is partially-‐ but not completely internalized, and is more about being self-‐controlling, rather than having internalized the value and enjoying the activity itself. This type of motivation has most often been observed in excessive exercisers who have internalized the ideal body image and feel the need to exercise to avoid negative feelings of shame, guilt and anxiety (Fortier & Farell, 2009). Fortier and Farell examined the differences in motivation between “excessive” exercisers and “healthy” exercisers. The results revealed that excessive exercisers had higher levels of introjected regulations than the “healthy” exercisers, which is consistent with earlier research showing that introjected regulations seem to be the strongest predictor for excessive exercise and dependence. However, their study also found that excessive exercisers showed a higher level of intrinsic and self-‐determined motivation, than the “healthy” exercisers. Women were also the ones who displayed more self-‐determined motives to exercise compared to men. The study’s qualitative data revealed that body image, health, appearance and guilt, were associated with exercise being excessive (Fortier & Farell, 2009). Several other studies have shown that individuals who engage in excessive exercise and individuals with exercise dependence have a higher level of introjected regulation, when compared to individuals exercising on a more healthy level (Gonzáles-‐ Cutre & Sicilia, 2012, Edmunds et al., 2006). One of the studies (Gonzáles-‐Cutre & Sicilia, 2012) found that factors most strongly associated with exercise dependence, were introjected regulations, perceived competence and a climate that promotes comparison between exercisers, rather than personal effort and improvement. This can be understood as a climate that is based on comparison and in which an individual feels competent, gradually triggers the need to exercise more and more in order to continue to feel competent and good about oneself and to avoid feelings of guilt (Gonzáles-‐Cutre & Sicilia, 2012). When a sample of individuals who were identified as “at risk” and showed some symptoms of exercise dependence was compared to a non-‐symptomatic group of exercisers, symptomatic exercisers displayed higher levels on all motivational regulations, both autonomous and controlling (Edmunds et al., 2006). As predicted,
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non-‐symptomatic individuals were motivated by identified regulations, thereby being more autonomous. This suggests that when a significant value is attached to exercise, hence identified regulation, it is not associated with excessive and problematic behavior. Despite the finding that symptomatic exercisers showed a higher level on all types of motivational regulation, there was a marginal significant difference, where introjected regulation seemed to be a predictor for strenuous exercise. It seems as if a perceived obligation to exercise may reduce self-‐determination (Edmunds et al., 2006). Since most previous studies have a quantitative approach, the authors find that a qualitative method would contribute to existing findings, by giving a deeper insight into personal experiences and thoughts. Therefore, a qualitative method is used in this study to explore the motivational regulations behind excessive exercise. The choice to focus on women was that they, to a bigger extent than men, seem to exercise excessively because of the appearance ideals in the society. This is considered to be an externally regulated factor associated with negative health consequences. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine the underlying motivational regulations, defined by the Self-‐determination theory, of young women’s engagement in excessive exercise at a fitness center. More specifically, this was done through a qualitative approach that investigated women’s own perception of their motives to exercise. Method In order to access young women’s perception of the reasons behind their exercise, seven individual semi structured interviews were carried out. The format of semi structured interviews was used because it enables to ask follow up questions on interesting and relevant topics and allows to modify questions depending on the participants’ answers (Wengraf, 2001). The collected data was processed through a thematic analysis, in order to identify common themes and motives for exercise. A thematic analysis is a practical method, with its theoretically flexible way of analyzing data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Participants To find suitable participants for this study, the authors established several selection criteria. First, the authors carried out a short investigation at the gym where the study took place, asking women about their amount of exercise. The majority of the women answered that they exercise five to six times per week. Based on this, as well as previous studies (Lichtenstein, Christiansen, Bilenberg & Støving, 2014; Terry, Szabo & Griffiths, 2004), the criteria for regularly exercising for at least an hour seven times a week was established, to reach the women exercising above the average amount. The participating women also had to be between the age of 18 and 30. This age span was based on a previous qualitative study examining women’s attitude toward exercise (Bamber, Cockerill, Rodgers & Carroll, 2000). The age of the participants in the present study ranged from 19 – 30 years (M = 25 years). Women attending only classes and not the gym, as well as women competing at higher than recreational level in any sport, were excluded. It was assumed that they are motivated by other factors, such as winning prizes and appraisal from others.
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Interview guide Since the aim of qualitative research is to explore the individual’s own perception and experience, this was kept in mind when the interview guide was developed. Initially, the participants were asked basic questions about their exercise background and then more specific questions related to their motivation and exercise routines. This was followed by three different scenarios, to which the participants were able to relate in their daily lives (see appendix A). The individuals were requested to share their thoughts and actions in every given scenario and relevant follow up questions were asked. Following that, a few questions about appearance ideals and health awareness were asked, if they had not already been brought up. The interview questions and the scenarios were based on different motivational regulations within the SDT. A Swedish translation of Behavioral Regulation Sport Questionnaire, BRSQ (Lindberg, Jonsson & Sommer, 2014; see Appendix B) was used as a guide to develop relevant questions that cover all of the motivational regulations. BRSQ is a self-‐assessment questionnaire consisting of 27 items that measure the six different types of motivational regulations within the SDT theory (Lonsdale, Hodge & Rose, 2008; Hodge & Rose, 2010). Once the guide was developed, two pilot studies were carried out, in order to modify and improve the guide further, as well as to give the authors an opportunity to practice their interview technique. Data collection The participants were recruited by posters at a local university and a fitness center area (see appendix C). The posters informed about the purpose of the study, the inclusion criteria and that a free movie ticket will be given for participation. In total, eight women responded within one week. One was excluded because she attended only instructor led classes at the fitness center, hence not meeting our criteria. After this, seven individual interviews were completed, one of the authors completing four interviews and one of the authors completing three interviews. The interviews took between 45 minutes to an hour. All of the interviews took place in a quiet and private place at the university. Before starting the interview, the participants were informed that the interview was going to be recorded, confidential and erased after being transcribed. All of the interviews were based on the semi-‐structured interview guide outlined by the authors. Data analysis The collected data was analyzed in accordance with Braun and Clarke´s six phases of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Following their recommendations for thematic analysis, the authors transcribed the interviews word by word. Utterances that did not constitute words were left out. The author who completed the interview was the one transcribing it. After the transcription, the authors individually read all the interviews once. After that, the authors read all the interviews individually again, this time making comments on what they saw as relevant aspects of the data. Then the authors compared their comments on the data. The next step was to create codes, which was done together. Having done that, the authors read all the interviews individually again, with an initial coding of the interviews. Then the authors compared their coded interviews, and made revisions when there were different ideas about whether one code or the other fitted the best. Two new codes were created, due to the authors’ opinions that new codes were needed to give light to important information in the interview. Also, five codes were taken away, since the quotations creating them now were seen to better fit within the new codes. After the second round of coding, the
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authors split up again, searching for themes. In the last phase, the authors came together again, comparing their themes, finally agreeing on four themes, with eight subthemes. Ethics Following the principles of the national ethic committee (Vetenskapsrådet, 2002), the participants were given the following information: the purpose of the study, informed consent, that the interview was going to be recorded, about the secrecy and that they could choose to discontinue their participation at any time, without having to provide any explanation. Also, they were informed that they could contact the authors afterwards, to remove, add or correct something from the interviews. Reflexivity In qualitative research it is important to consider researchers’ own experiences for the credibility of the data, since in qualitative research the researcher becomes the instrument (Patton, 2002). Both of the researchers and authors of this study have an extensive background in sport and exercise combined with an education in sport psychology, which provides a good contextual knowledge and understanding of people’s behavior. However, it must also be recognized that this can give the researchers a subjectivity that will affect the research process. For example, having knowledge in psychodynamic theory and therapy can contribute to the interpretation that the answers have an additional meaning to what is being said explicitly. It should also be mentioned that the authors do not have English as their mother tongue. Since the interviews were carried out in Swedish and translated to English, this might have affected the data. Results The total number of words in the transcribed interviews was 39 646. This resulted in 119 codes, which were divided into four main themes. Three of the main themes are followed by sub-‐themes. There are eight sub-‐themes in total.
Table 2. Structure of the themes and subthemes.
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Theme 1: Exercise affected by social influence All of the women talked about their exercise behavior being influenced by external factors, such as media and people in their surroundings. The authors defined this as social influence, which became a main theme followed by three sub themes: “To exercise for appearance”, “Ambivalence toward being influenced by appearance ideals” and ”Influenced by others”.
To exercise for appearance Appearance was something that was brought up by all of the women interviewed and most of them talked about it as something that motivated them to exercise. Almost every informant talked about the importance of eating healthy and many mentioned having a low level of body fat and sustaining weight as something desirable. Many of the informants saw themselves being responsible for the way their body looked and therefore also being in charge and able to influence their own appearance. One of the informants said:
You see the results really fast, both in terms of what you put on the bar but also how your body is really sculpturing, yeah you are pretty much in charge of the way you want to look...and when you work out, you kind of also have the power in your own hands, well like I want to get a bigger booty, yes then I’ll work out my booty (laugh) at the gym.
Exercise was seen by many as a mean to achieve an appearance consistent with appearance ideals and to avoid an undesirable look. Many of the women mentioned the importance of looking healthy and fit and having visible muscles as something indicating the level of health and fitness. Having visible muscles and looking fit was by some seen as more important than just being strong and able to lift heavy. One of the informants expressed her desire to get more visible muscles:
I started following people on Instagram and I know that I have lots of muscles, I am really strong, but all of these muscles are not visible, I have to shred some (fat) to get this muscle definition.
Ambivalence toward being influenced by appearance ideals
When asked about the present appearance ideals in society, the informants showed conflicting opinions about trying to reach these ideals. We saw this as ambivalence toward being influenced by appearance ideals. A number of informants mentioned that ideals are something that they are striving for, despite being aware of not always having the right prerequisites for it. There was also an awareness that this goal to achieve the ideal female body could become exaggerated and have a negative impact, such as feelings of failure when unable to achieve this ideal. One of the women expressed this as:
Well there is a lot of, you know, you see Instagram pictures of someone who is really fit and you really wish to look like that too. You don’t consider that maybe not everyone has what it takes to look like that, you just want to get there so bad… It’s good to exercise, but it’s easy that it becomes exaggerated when we have ideals
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like that. It really affects young women and they may feel that this is how I am supposed to look to be successful.
One of the informants described the ideal as something that determines if you fit in or become an outsider in the society, by saying:
The society is based on the way you look, you should be skinny, have long hair, it’s like you need to look a certain way in the society. If you’re big, you kind of just feel like there is no place for you.
A few of the women expressed their awareness of appearance ideals, but that they resisted to follow these ideals because they were not seen as something desirable from a health perspective. One of them expressed this as:
...the ideals in society are either you should be really really skinny or now the new thing is to be really really fit, like 1% body fat. Just because you're skinny doesn’t mean that you are healthy and in shape… Instead of becoming the best version of yourself, the society wants you to become the best version of someone else. It just gets wrong and I’m really against it, I’ll never be size 0, I don’t want to be size 0, I don’t want to be skin and bones, I don’t want to weigh 50 kilo and look like a walking stick, then I rather weigh 90 kilos and have lots of muscles. I’m rather a bit overweight than too skinny...I don’t exercise to become like that, to wake up with Kim Kardashian butt and a six pack on my stomach. I exercise to feel good...I don’t exercise for any ideals, not because the society tells me what I should look like.
All of the informants were aware of the ideals being present in our society. Despite that, some of the informants mentioned that these ideals about appearance, health and fitness can sometimes be conflicting and that it is not easy to know what ideal to follow. It was described as various messages in the society about being very skinny, but at the same time not too skinny, having muscles that are visible but not too visible, being healthy but not too healthy. One of the informants experienced that her healthy lifestyle could be classified as too healthy or extreme by people around her. She described that she was expected to be someone who would shut herself in, sit and read fitness magazines and drink protein shakes, being unable to live a normal life. Another informant described the ideals of appearance and femininity conflicting with the health and fitness ideals, resulting in a gym being more like a catwalk, where you need to show yourself off. Some of the informants expressed that appearance ideals are meant to be unreachable, that they are there to motivate people and make them strive for something. One of the informants put it like this:
That’s why I think the ideals are so hard to reach, because, they are, you need to strive for them all the time, and when you are far away you need to invest so much... There is no perfect ideal if you ask me, but it’s there, to like, to make people fight for something. Influenced by others
Not only did the informants talk about the influence from media and social media. They also talked about how people in their surroundings had an impact on their exercise behavior, both regarding the amount of exercise and what exercise to perform to
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achieve desired results. This influence comes from other people at the gym, significant others and classmates. For example comparing how much weight one could put on the bar, but also how fit you look. When describing the influence from classmates, one of the informants stated:
Lately, I’ve been working out with others, more than I usually do. I think it’s more fun to work out with others, you kind of get psyched from working out with others...And then I have some classmates, there are many students on the X-‐program that are former elite-‐athletes or still are, so they exercise a lot and I’ve been exercising with them as well. And that also has an impact, that they work out that much...you know it’s easy to start comparing yourself with someone who has been working out a lot longer than yourself and then you think that “oh! why am I not at the same level?”, it’s not that strange that you’re not but you can still get those thoughts.
Another informant talked about how significant others can have an impact on what type of body shape you try to achieve. She expressed it as having doubts about whether a muscular body shape was desirable to achieve, since a muscular body shape was not a desirable body shape according to a significant other. She said:
...maybe you don’t want to acknowledge that but maybe I like a guy a lot and then I find out that he doesn’t like girls who don’t have curves, and are like muscular, and then you maybe deep down maybe you, well but maybe then I shouldn’t be like that.
Theme 2: Ambivalence toward the amount of exercise When talking about the amount of exercise, the informants mentioned many aspects of what determined their amount. Some of them described their amount of exercise as something compulsive. Others said that they knew that a moderate amount of exercise would be the best, but that they often did not behave accordingly. There were also statements where they talked about the lack of motivation and how to overcome it. We saw this as ambivalence toward exercise, which was divided into subthemes: ”Compulsiveness”, ”Finding a balance”, and ”Overcoming the lack of motivation”. Compulsiveness Some of the informants expressed a need to compensate for absent exercise, for example exercising two times a day if missing the workout the day before. Also, they mentioned exercise as a mean to justify eating or resting. Prioritizing and planning the exercise was something that most of the informants mentioned. Even when something unexpected occurred that could ruin their plans, many of the informants explained how they would still find a way to exercise. For example, if being invited to dinner when planning to go to the gym, the informants explained how they would still try to fit in the workout, either by postponing the dinner, by working out after the dinner, or by finding a way to work out at home. One of the informants explained how she felt guilty when not exercising and that she wished she would not feel this way. She said that she knew that one day without exercise is not going to change anything, but that she still felt as if this was the case.
...I can get some anxiety if my plan was to work out but then something came in
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the way. Then I feel a little bit of anxiety and feel that oh no, what is going to happen now? And of course nothing is happening but still you have those thoughts...it’s a little bit exaggerated already, when I feel guilty for not exercising, but at the same time it feels like it’s not that easy to get rid of it.
Another informant talked about a fear of what would happen if missing out on several workouts. She explained that she knew that there was not going to be a big difference if not exercising for a week. However, she said that she still felt as if there was going to be a big difference. Additionally, one informant talked about how she knew nothing would happen, but still felt as if she was going to end up a lot bigger and out of shape and how stupid she felt because she knew that this was not the actual case.
Finding a balance Despite the compulsiveness that some of the informants expressed, many also expressed having a balance in their exercise routines. This balance was expressed in statements such as “to balance this, for me it’s very important to have motivation and feel that I want to. That’s the most important thing. Because if I don’t want to, then I know that this will not last in the long run”. Some of the informants stated that they will skip their workout if feeling sick or severe fatigue, as they believed that pushing oneself over the limit will unlikely bring the desired results. A few of the women also mentioned that they sometimes can skip their workout and prioritize social events, such as spending time with friends. Some women also mentioned that they used to suffer from orthorexia or exercise addiction and would at that time have exercised no matter what. However, this behavior put their body under great strain and eventually made them reconsider their exercise patterns. This helped them find a more balanced way of exercising. One of the informants also mentioned that balance is not about the amount of exercise, but rather about how you exercise. She mentioned the importance of recovery between workouts, such as good eating habits and rest. In her opinion, recovery is the most important part and that there is no such thing as too much exercise as long as you do it the right way. Other informants made statements that the authors see as contradictory to their large amount of exercise. For example that more exercise is not necessarily better and will not always imply better results. Some women even mentioned that they could work out less than half of their current amount and still get the same benefits from exercise. One woman stated:
I believe that all exercise is good and that there is no such thing as too little exercise… As long as you are happy with the exercise you perform, then it’s good… I would say that you can just have one all-‐round workout twice a week, 45-‐60 minutes twice a week, that’s actually enough. That’s how much I used to work out. Overcoming lack of motivation
During the interviews it also appeared that lack of motivation was something rather common and experienced by all of the women from time to time. Lack of motivation was however talked about as something that they needed to fight against and overcome. Some women described that in order to stay motivated, they needed immediate rewards, such as doing a fun activity or treating themselves with something nice to eat. Another way of staying motivated was to set up goals to work toward and to remember these goals in order to stay on track. Also, all of the informants mentioned that thinking
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about all the positive things they gained from working out also helped them staying motivated. One of the women said:
I try to think of my goals, but they are so far away sometimes, so it’s a little difficult to keep yourself motivated with that. So I try to think that I’ll reward myself with something afterwards, like some good food or something like that. And then I try to think that I get a lot more energy and become happy after I have worked out, so yea, like that.
All of the women described that having a break from exercise makes them lose routine and that it takes a lot of effort for them to get back into the same shape and routine. Therefore, a break from exercise was described by some of the women as something they were afraid of, because it could make them lose their motivation. Theme 3: Benefits of exercise One of the first reasons to exercise that all of the informants mentioned, was all the benefits they gained from it. These benefits were divided into two sub themes, the first one, “Exercising to avoid negative effects” where exercising helps the women to avoid something negative, while the second one, “Exercising to achieve positive effects” is about how exercise adds something positive to their lives.
Exercising to avoid negative effects
All of the women mentioned that without exercise, they would experience several negative feelings, such as restlessness, anxiety, stress, nervousness and feeling down or depressed. Exercise was something that helped them cope with, or avoid these feelings. One of the women expressed that she would feel depressed if she stopped exercising: “I actually think that I would get depressed. I really have a need to be active, to feel good. So it would definitely bring me down.” The extensive amount of exercise was also described as necessary in order to deal with anxiety.
I kind of have a hard time sitting still, so the reason for why I have to exercise so much is probably because I’m just crawling out of my skin if I have to be still…Mentally I feel like I become a little anxious if I don’t move around, stay active.
Many of the women mentioned that just a two day break from exercise could result in experiencing these negative effects. Most of the women also described a fear of losing muscles and their fitness shape, as well as losing daily routines if not exercising regularly. They also mentioned exercise as a way of taking a break from everyday life. It was also described as something they would use to get away from more boring and demanding tasks, such as studying for exams, cleaning and doing other errands. For them, exercise created a meaning and a hobby in their daily life and became something that made them avoid idleness, “what would I have done instead? I would just be sitting there on the couch and not do a thing”.
Exercising to achieve positive effects Most of the informants talked about seeing results and reaching goals as something that motivated them. The kick of endorphins was also mentioned as motivating. Additionally, exercising on a regular basis was mentioned as something that gave them a lot of
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benefits in their everyday life, such as being more disciplined, having routines and eating healthier. One of the informants described this as a domino-‐effect:
I get more energy, but it’s even like I get more like ambitions, it’s like it affects all areas of life, I feel, it’s like, since you take it so seriously then it’s maybe like you take other things more seriously. It’s kind of like a domino-‐effect…and when you set goals and when you reach them it results in more motivation and you only want to get better and better...I also feel that there is less of this laziness when exercising a lot, that it kind of, you don’t get as lazy, or, to me it’s like that, and then I also feel, yeah, I feel good, kind of, that is also, oddly enough when I exercise I want to eat good food, it kind of happens that I lose the appetite for bad food, for some reason.
Also, health effects were talked about in general, both psychological and physiological health effects, in short term and in long term:
You know when you exercise you get a lot of positive energy in your body...so I just know that when I exercise I feel a lot better psychologically, my body feels better. I have more energy, I’m happier, I don’t stress as much, I’m more positive.
Theme 4: Exercise affecting the sense of self Many of the women talked about exercise being a part of who they are and a part of their personality, such as being an “active person”, an “achiever” and a person with a healthy lifestyle. They described that without exercise they would lose a part of themselves and how they perceive themselves. One of the informants stated:
Yeah, well, I kind of feel like, if I say that I work out a lot, and then maybe there is a time when I don’t do that, then it feels like the picture of me it’s not right, kind of, it’s not like I feel worse, but I just want to be that person who performs all the time.
Exercise was also described as something connected to the individual’s self-‐esteem, both when it comes to achieving results that make the person feel better about herself, but also the feeling they get after a workout. “Then I think, wow what a great workout, that’s nice, I feel proud of myself...obviously the self-‐esteem gets better when I perform well at the gym…”. In addition, self-‐esteem was described as directly “built” at the gym. One woman described how insecure she was when she first started attending the gym. With time she gained more competence in her workout routine, which made her confidence and self-‐esteem grow. She explained that many of her peers avoid going to the gym because of lack of self-‐esteem, but she believed that the gym is the perfect place to build it. Discussion This study examined the motivational regulations, defined by the Self-‐determination theory, behind young women's excessive exercise at a fitness center. The study was carried out through a qualitative method, by individual semi-‐structured interviews. The results indicated that there are several factors, both within the individual and within the society, that influence exercise behavior and can provide an insight into excessive
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exercise behavior. All of the women mentioned appearance as something important in our society and for some of them this became a reason that motivated their exercise behavior. However, other women talked about an unwillingness to be influenced by appearance ideals, which we interpreted as a resistance to follow these. Some also mentioned being influenced by other people in their surroundings, such as friends, classmates and significant others. Compulsion to exercise was mentioned by some women, but having a balance in exercise, as well as a lack of motivation, was also brought up. This shows that excessive exercise is not easily explained, as the latter two reasons are contradictory to the high amount of exercise performed by the women in this study. For some women, exercise was also something that they identified with and that directly affected their sense of self. Two motives for exercise that all of the women mentioned were the psychological and physiological benefits of exercise, such as being stronger and in better shape. Motivational regulations behind exercise behavior When the informants talked about exercise as a way to shape their body, we interpret this as if the informants held themselves responsible for their bodily appearance. The belief of being responsible for one’s appearance is called healthism (McGannon & Spence, 2012). When exercising because of healthism, this can be external regulation or introjected regulation (Sicilia et al., 2014). Some of the informants reported striving for their own body ideal instead of the ideal presented in the media. We interpret this as if their regulation was more internal than external, since the ideal that they strive for is created by themselves. Cox et al. (2013) found that in individuals who are highly concerned with how others will judge their body, physical activity will be hindered if their motivation is external. However, if the motivation is more autonomous and thus more internal, exercise will be promoted. This difference was not found in our study. Instead, it seemed as if there was no difference in exercise amount, between women who were more autonomous and internal in their exercise behavior and women strongly influenced by appearance ideals or people in their surroundings. Even though all of the informants exercise at least seven times a week, there were some differences in the mindset about their exercise behavior. Some informants talked about compulsiveness while others did not. The informants who talked about compulsiveness, expressed a wish to avoid negative feelings, such as anxiety and guilt, and that they feared losing fitness shape. We interpret this as an introjected type of regulation, which is defined as something that an individual does to avoid a punishment, created by the individual herself (Deci & Ryan, 2010). Many of the informants also mentioned the importance of finding a balance in their amount of exercise. It is tempting to think, that someone balancing the amount of exercise, would be more internally regulated than someone exercising excessively. However, excessive exercisers have shown a higher level of internally regulated motivation than the “healthy” exercisers (Fortier & Farell, 2009). Therefore, it can be seen as a possibility that it is not first and foremost the type of regulation that determines the level of motivation and exercise, but how many types of regulations that are present within an individual’s motivational pattern. This is similar to what was suggested by Edmunds et al. (2006), who found that symptomatic exercisers displayed somewhat higher levels on all motivational regulations, both autonomous and controlling types of motivation. We suggest that the women in our study might be high in both the external and internal types of motivation. Hence, not
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only internal motivation can be the major type of motivation behind an excessive behavior, external type of motivation can also lead to a persistent behavior. Despite the possibility that the informants are driven by all motivational regulations, they did also mention occasionally having a lack of motivation, which according to the SDT would be called amotivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000). However, in this case we claim that the informants’ description of lack of motivation was not amotivation, but rather a type of motivation in itself. If the informants had no motivation at all, they could have decided not to go to the gym. Instead, they stated that they would make themselves go to the gym by creating rewards and reminding themselves of the benefits of going to the gym. We interpret this as an identified regulation, because they made themselves motivated by thinking about the rewards and benefits of the exercise. Hence, the exercise itself was not something that they wanted to do, but they wanted to do it partly because of its positive effects. Physiological and psychological benefits of exercise were brought up by all of the women as reasons that motivated them to exercise. These benefits implied positive feelings and visible results, as well as something that helped them avoid negative feelings and cope with everyday life. When exercise is performed because of its recognized benefits, such as improved health and well-‐being, we see this as identified regulation. Although identified regulation is a more autonomous form of motivation, it is still extrinsic, because the activity is performed due to its instrumental value and not because it is joyful in itself (Deci & Ryan, 2010). Despite some of the women stating that they exercise because they find it joyful, it was more the instrumental value of exercise that made it joyful, such as exercising to get in better shape and feeling more energetic afterwards. Health benefits of exercise can be seen as identified regulation, but also as an introjected regulation. Many of the women mentioned feeling guilty if not exercising, feeling restless, anxious or even depressed. This can be interpreted as a more introjected regulation, where exercise is motivated by an urge to avoid negative feelings and self-‐punishment (Gonzáles-‐Cutre & Sicilia, 2012). These findings, in which identified and introjected regulation seem to explain some of the motivation behind exercise, go along with previous research. As Rodgers (2010) suggested, identified motivation is what can be expected for the majority of people who exercise and that it is sufficient to produce regular and satisfying exercise behaviors. Wilson et al. (2008) explained that a well-‐internalized extrinsic motivation could be as useful in performing certain behaviors, as intrinsic motivation. This explains how individuals can stay motivated, even when a behavior is not rewarding in itself. In this study, all of the women have internalized the benefits of exercise as a part of their daily routine and recognize these benefits as an important part of their lives. This can provide one of the explanations to the women’s strong motivation to exercise, despite the motivation being extrinsic. Additional reasons that seemed to affect the motivation of some women, was that exercise was expressed as being a big part of who they are, thus directly affecting how they see themselves. When a behavior is integrated into an individual’s lifestyle and identity, a behavior is driven by integrated regulation (Gonzáles-‐ Cutre & Sicilia, 2012). This seems to be the case for the women who described themselves as individuals with a healthy and active lifestyle. They explained that without exercise, they would not be themselves. However, for some of the women, exercise was more linked to whether they
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felt good about themselves and proud of their accomplishments. For these women, exercise seems to be a way of gaining self-‐confidence, which we see as a more introjected type of regulation, in which motivation is based on a need to receive acknowledgement and self-‐confidence (Gonzáles-‐Cutre & Sicilia, 2012). Exercise as a way to satisfy basic needs The informants talked about gaining self-‐confidence from exercise and feeling good about themselves when they exercised. We see this as if exercise made the informants feel competent. Many of the women also stated that they need to set up goals in order to stay motivated and that reaching these goals made them feel good. Thus it seems as if goals are also related to the feeling of competence. According to Deci and Ryan (2000), competence is one of the three basic human needs motivating behavior. Competence is seen as an ability to influence one's environment and accomplish valued outcomes within it. If the need for competence is met, it enhances intrinsic motivation, but does not necessarily make the behavior intrinsic, as competence is necessary for any type of motivation, both extrinsic and intrinsic (Deci & Ryan, 2000). This can explain how exercise helps many of the women feel good about themselves and makes them feel competent when performing it. This enhances their motivation, even if the motivation is extrinsic. However, this makes us wonder if competence and feeling good about oneself is what actually creates motivation for exercise. It is possible, that because of the health and fitness trend in the society, exercise is what by chance became an activity and a way to enhance and satisfy the basic need for competence. What if the trend did not involve the gym, but instead reading, could that cause excessive reading instead of excessive exercise? In a similar way, some of the informants explained how their exercise behavior was influenced by others, such as friends, classmates and significant others. Similarly, we believe that it should be considered if the motivation is really about exercise itself, or more about the satisfaction of the basic psychological need of relatedness, which is the desire to feel loved, cared for and connected to others (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Many of the women described exercise as a social activity they did together with others. Therefore, we wonder if the fitness center by chance became what they frequently attend. Thus, it may have become a frequently performed activity, not necessarily because of the activity itself or its results, but as a mean to achieve something else. This conclusion is based on the women’s statements that exercise is something they do to escape boring everyday tasks, idleness and as a way to socialize with friends. Another interesting discovery is the difference in how the women talked about the effects of the appearance ideals. They were all aware of the appearance ideals, but only some talked about ideals having an influence on their exercise behavior. Others disagreed with the fact that appearance ideals have anything to do with their exercise behavior. We cannot know whether the women who denied being influenced by appearance ideals actually were not influenced or if they simply were in denial. To feel free to perform independent actions, not being affected by outside control, is defined as autonomy and is a basic need according to Deci and Ryan (2000). Autonomy also implies feeling that one’s actions are in line with one’s integrated sense of self. If extrinsic rewards are present when doing an intrinsically regulated activity, people tend to feel controlled by these rewards. This leads to a shift of locus of causality, which diminishes intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Previous research has also shown that there is a higher amount of exercise engagement, if the individual’s need for
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autonomy is supported by giving them some choices when exercising (Wulf, Freitas & Tandy, 2014). It might be, that some of the informants want to see their exercise as something they actively choose to do and therefore refuse to see it as something they do because of social influence, such as appearance ideals. Admitting being socially influenced, can make them feel controlled and extrinsically rewarded, which could decrease their motivation. Justifying the amount of exercise The overall findings in this study provide several possible explanations to why the informants exercise. Still, it is difficult to explain their extensive amount of exercise. It could be the case, that the women see it as “the more exercise the better”. However, we have noticed that many of the informants are aware of that the mentioned exercise benefits could have been achieved with less amount of exercise. This makes us believe that the reasons for why the extensive amount of exercise is carried out, might not be a question the informants ask themselves. Thus, many of the women may not know themselves why they exercise so much. This can be understood as the defense mechanism of rationalization (McWilliams, 2010), as the women provide an explanation for their behavior in order to justify it, but seem to be avoiding or unaware of the true explanation. Also, suggested by Arkes and Blumer (1985), the more time spent on a behavior, the more you are prone to convince yourself that what you do is important. This is known as the sunk-‐cost effect (Arkes & Blumer, 1985). Since the informants can be considered spending an extensive amount of time on exercise, it is possible, that the sunk-‐cost effect has had an impact on the informants’ answers. The informants might have given reasons for exercise, even if they themselves not necessarily know if these reasons are what actually motivate them. Methodological discussion and limitations There are some possible limitations with this study that should be considered. The women in this study were selected through a convenience selection (Mujis, 2011), which means that the first seven women that fit into the selection criteria became participants in this study. This study gives a deeper insight into unique, individual experiences of seven young women. However, as with all qualitative research, our findings cannot be said to be representative for the whole population of young women between the age of 18 to 30. Despite this, we believe that our results can provide a partial insight into young women's exercise behavior. The approach of this study was a deductive thematic analysis, meaning it was driven by the researcher’s theoretical framework (Braun & Clarke, 2006). This affects both the interview questions asked, as well as how the data is collected and interpreted. The deductive form of analysis gives a more detailed analysis of some aspects of the data, while it provides a less descriptive picture of the data overall (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The risk with this approach is that when carrying out the research, the researcher is trying to fit the data into pre-‐existing frames and theories, which has affected how our data was collected and interpreted. It is reasonable to assume, that the results may have been different with a less data driven approach. As an example, the informants were specifically asked about the appearance ideals and the health trend in the society. It is possible, that the informants had not mentioned the appearance ideals at all, if we had not asked about it. Although research has shown, that the appearance ideals have an impact on young women's exercise behavior (Gillison et al., 2009), asking specific questions about this might have made the informants talk about it.
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Also, one might question the inclusion criteria about exercising seven times or more in a week. As previously mentioned, the city where this study took place is a city where many people exercise and engage in sport activities. The short investigation that was carried out before this study, showed that most of the people exercise five to six times per week. It can be assumed that in another city, the average amount could have been lower. Hence, the amount of seven times a week is an arbitrary amount to use when defining excessive exercise. It should also be considered, that research has shown that it is not necessarily the amount of exercise per week that makes exercise excessive, but rather the attitude toward the exercise (Hall et al., 2007). Thus, the inclusion criteria, except for gender and age, could instead have focused on the attitudes toward one’s exercise. For example, the inclusion criteria could have been: “does your exercise routine take up too much of your everyday life?” We did consider having this type of inclusion criteria. However, we were uncertain if people would want to participate in a study that obviously searched for people having problems with their exercise behavior. In fear of not getting any informants, we instead chose the specified amount of seven times or more per week. Even then, this might have raised suspicions among the informants and made them think that we were looking for a less healthy exercise behavior. This could have made them more defensive about justifying their exercise behavior and pointing out that they do not have a problem with it, instead of in depth reflecting about the reasons behind their exercise behavior. Conclusion and future research With the present health trend, there are a growing number of people engaging in high amount of exercise (Nimbratt, 2013). Recent research has shown that women, to a higher extent than men, seem to exercise for appearance and thus seem to be motivated to exercise partly because of other reasons (Gillison et al., 2009). The results of this study showed that women are motivated by social factors, such as appearance ideals and people in their surroundings, as well as individual factors, such as physiological and psychological states. The women expressed exercise as enjoyable, which may seem as intrinsic motivation. However, when following up with further questions about why it is enjoyable, the majority of the reasons given were interpreted as extrinsically related motivation, such as appearance ideals and influence from other people. Despite giving answers to why they exercise, these women did not seem to be completely aware of the reasons behind their amount of exercise, because they could mention the awareness of that less amount of exercise would be enough to reach the benefits that motivated them. This knowledge might be useful in future studies looking at people’s motives for exercising. The awareness that people do not always know their reasons for their behavior, might contribute to another make up of this study. The informants differed in what motivated them to attend the fitness center, ranging from more external to more internal factors, thus being motivated by different regulations. Yet, they all carried out the same behavior. Therefore it can be questioned, whether the motivational regulations within the SDT provide the best explanation to why a certain behavior is performed. It is possible, that satisfaction of the basic psychological needs within SDT is also important to consider and not only the regulations. Also, other theories could possibly contribute to a better explanation. Therefore, in future studies, it would be interesting to investigate the same phenomenon, but with a different theoretical framework. Also, it would be interesting to
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investigate motivation for exercise among women exercising on a more mediate level. This would be to see if the reasons they give differ from the answers given in this study. It is possible that people exercising on a mediate level, have fewer reasons for exercise, such as only health benefits. If having fewer reasons, it might result in fewer motivational regulations and thus it may be easier to provide an explanation to one’s exercise behavior. Having many reasons could result in ambivalence to one's behavior, because these different reasons can be conflicting. As the informants stated; exercising for appearance and exercising for physiological benefits do not always go together. If you want to have a body of a model, then gaining a lot of muscles is probably not going to be beneficial. However, gaining muscles will make you stronger, which could be seen as a physiological benefit gained from exercise. Thus it can be stated, that it is not always a lack of reasons that makes the informants unaware of their behavior. Rather, having many conflicting reasons might result in a vague answer. In a broader perspective, we suggest that it is important not to underestimate the influence that trends might have on people's behavior. It is of interest to question what would happen if there would be a different trend in the society.
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Appendix A
Intervjuguiden: Hej och välkommen! Kul att du hade möjlighet att ställa upp, det uppskattar vi verkligen. Jag heter XX och läser termin 10 på Psykologprogrammet med inriktning mot idrott på Umeå universitet. Just nu håller jag och en till student på att skriva vårt examensarbete som handlar om vad som motiverar unga kvinnor till att träna. Anledningen till att vi valde att ha med kvinnor som tränar på gym sju pass i veckan eller mer är för att vi tänker att motivationen skiljer sig från dom som tränar mindre frekvent. Vi kommer att intervjua totalt 6 personer. När vi är klara med alla intervjuer kommer vi att skriva en uppsats och om du är intresserad av att läsa den så kan vi att skicka den till dig. Självklart är intervjun helt anonym. Det kommer inte gå att känna igen vem som har sagt vad av intervjupersonerna. Det är frivilligt att vara med, så du kan avbryta intervjun när du vill. Du kan även efter intervjun höra av dig till oss om du vill lägga till, ändra eller ta bort något du har sagt. Intervjun idag kommer att ta cirka 45 minuter och handla om Din upplevelse av träning. Vi kommer ha några frågor som utgångspunkt men det kommer även finnas utrymme för diskussion. För vår skull kommer vi att spela in intervjun, så vi minns vad som har sagts. Ljudinspelningen och anteckningar kommer att raderas efter kursen. Vi kommer börja med några bakgrundsfrågor, följt av frågor kring din upplevelse av träning och vad som motiverar dig till att träna. Vi kommer sedan presentera tre olika scenarion där du får resonera kring hur du skulle tänka i de olika situationerna. Avslutningsvis kommer några frågor om kroppsideal och hälsomedvetenhet i samhället och hur du ser på det. Om du kommer på några frågor i efterhand får du gärna höra av dig till oss! Bakgrundsfrågor: Ålder? Sysselsättning? Hur ofta tränar du? Vilken typ av träning utför du? Hur länge har du tränat? Hur ser din träningsbakgrund ut? Motivation till träning: Vad fick dig att börja gymträna i första hand? När du började gymträna, hur mycket tränade du då? Vad fick dig att eventuellt öka din träningsdos? Vad ser du för fördelar/belöning med den träning du utövar? (Nackdelar?)/Tror du att mängden du utövar är en förutsättning för att uppnå dom fördelarna? (Om nej: Hur kommer det sig att du tränar den mängden du tränar?) Hur mycket är för lite träning/lagom träning/för mycket träning? (Hur kommer det sig?) Vad motiverar dig till att träna? Vad har du för mål med din träning? Om den orsaken försvann, skulle du då fortsätta träna i den utsträckning du gör idag? Hur märker du dina resultat/träningseffekt? (Hur viktigt är det för dig att träningen ger resultat? Och tror du att du skulle träna i samma utsträckning om träningen inte gav resultat, eller de resultat du ville?)
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Har du vänner/bekanta som tränar i samma utsträckning som du? Kan du beskriva dina känslor (och tankar) efter ett träningspass? Finns det några andra aktiviteter i din vardag som ger dig samma känsla? Om du skulle motivera en vän som inte gymmar till att börja, vad skulle du säga då? Hur skulle du avsluta meningen… ” jag tränar för att….” (Finns det tillfällen när du inte känner någon motivation för att träna alls? Vad gör du då? Kommer du någon gång i framtiden välja en annan träningsform tror du?) -ställs i mån av tid efter frågor om social påverkan (om man ändå inte kommit in på det.) Scenarion: * frågorna under respektive scenario ställs om de inte annars berörs i diskussionen. 1. Det är onsdag kväll och du har planerat att gå till gymmet. Plötsligt får du ett samtal av din kompis du inte har träffat på länge som frågar om du har lust att komma på middag om en timme. Om du väljer att gå på middag kommer du inte hinna till gymmet då de stänger rätt tidigt idag. Och går du inte ikväll så har du en tuff vecka framför dig med mycket tentaplugg så det är inte säkert du hinner gå till gymmet så mycket som du vill i veckan. Fast middag med en god vän känns ju också väldigt trevligt… Vad skulle du tänka då och hur skulle du göra? Vad händer med dig när du inte får/ kan träna? Vilken känsla upplever du om du väljer att hoppa över ett pass? Om du måste hoppa över ett pass? Upplever du att träningen påverkar din livsstil? Din vardag? Upplever du att din identitet påverkas av att/hur mycket du tränar? Och i så fall hur? Hur skulle upplevelsen av dig själv förändras om du slutade att träna/minskade din träningsmängd? I så fall hur? 2. Du kommer hem sent från skolan/jobbet och har fortfarande saker kvar att göra. Du känner dig allmänt trött och hängig eftersom du sov så lite förra natten också, så egentligen vet du att du borde lägga dig och sova, men samtidigt har du rört på dig lite under dagen och ni var ett gäng som gick ut och åt pizza på lunchen. Vad skulle du tänka i den situationen och vad väljer du att göra? Brukar du tänka på vad du äter? Vad innebär det att vara hälsomedveten för dig? Upplever du att du är hälsomedveten? 3. Du är förkyld och ska åka på en veckas semester. Du är osäker på om du kommer kunna träna då , så du tänker att det kanske är bra att få ett till pass innan uppehållet. Vad gör du? Och hur skulle du tänka? Hur skulle det bli för dig om du nu blev tvungen att ta ett uppehåll från din träning under en längre period? Vid vilka tillfällen brukar du ta en paus från träningen? Hur tänker du att din kropp påverkas när du inte tränar på en vecka? Tänker du ofta på din träning, även när du inte är på plats i gymmet?
Social påverkan/hälsomedvetenhet: Vad skulle du beskriva är det nuvarande samhälleliga idealet på hur en kvinnas kropp ska se ut? Hur ser du på det? Upplever du att du påverkas av det? Hur ser du på den nya trenden som handlar om hälsomedvetenhet och träning? (Om tid finns: Hur ser andra på din träning? Brukar du jämföra dig med andra? (utseende och prestation på gymmet) Hur skulle du beskriva stämningen/atmosfären på gymmet?)
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Appendix B BRSQ24 Nedan är ett antal orsaker till varför personer deltar i idrott. Ta ställning till varje påstående genom att ringa in den siffra som bäst stämmer in på dig. Det finns inga korrekta eller felaktiga svar, så fundera inte för mycket på varje påstående. Svara på alla påståenden och svara ärligt.
Jag deltar i min idrott…. Stämmer inte alls
Stämmer Delvis
Stämmer mycket bra
1. för att jag tycker om det 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. för att det är en del av vem jag är 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. för att det är en möjlighet att vara den jag är 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. för att jag skulle skämmas om jag slutade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. men jag vet inte riktigt varför längre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. för att jag skulle känna mig misslyckad om jag slutade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. men jag undrar vad det är för mening med det 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. för att det jag gör i idrotten är ett uttryck för den jag är 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. för att fördelarna mitt idrottande ger mig är viktiga 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. för om jag inte gjorde det så skulle andra personer bli missnöjda med mig
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. för att jag gillar det 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12. för att jag känner mig skyldig att fortsätta 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
13. men jag ifrågasätter varför jag fortsätter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14. för att jag känner mig pressad av andra personer att idrotta 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
15. för att det är kul 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
16. för att den lär mig att vara självdisciplinerad 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
17. för att jag skulle få skuldkänslor om jag slutade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
18. för att jag trivs med det 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
19. för att andra pressar mig att idrotta 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
20. för att jag uppskattar fördelarna med mitt idrottande 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Dessa items kanske tillkommer: 25. för att jag gillar den positiva känslan jag får när jag utövar min idrott – IMS 26. för att jag gillar att lära mig nya saker – IMK 27. för att jag gillar att göra saker så bra jag kan – IMA
Scoring key: Amotivation 5, 7, 13, 21 External 10, 14, 19, 23 Introjected 4, 6, 12, 17 Identified 9, 16, 20, 22 Integrated 2, 3, 8, 24 Intrinsic 1 1, 11, 15, 18 Intrinsic 2 25, 26, 27
21. men jag ifrågasätter varför jag utsätter mig för detta 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
22. för det är ett bra sätt att lära mig saker jag kan ha nytta av i mitt liv
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
23. för att tillfredsställa andra personer som vill att jag ska idrotta 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
24. för att det tillåter mig att leva på ett sätt som stämmer överens med mina värderingar
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Appendix C
UMEÅ UNIVERSITET februari
Institutionen för psykologi
Vad motiverar Dig till att träna? • Är du kvinna och mellan 18-‐30? • Tränar du på gym sju gånger i veckan eller mer? • Anpassar du din vardag efter träningen?
Uppfyller du ovanstående kriterier söker vi dig till vår intervjustudie! Vi går termin 10på psykologprogrammet med inriktning mot idrott. Under våren skriver vi en D-‐uppsa ts om unga kvinnors motivation till träning, där ditt deltagande skulle vara betydelsefullt för oss. Intervjun tar ca 45 minuter. Som tack för ditt deltagande erhåller du en biobiljett. Låter detta intressant? För att anmäla dig till studien eller vid frågor, kontakta: -‐ Karin Johansson, Projektledare [email protected] -‐ Valeria Sjöbom, Projektledare [email protected]
Projektansvarig: Lektor Marius Sommer [email protected]
Varmt välkommen, vi ser fram emot Din medverkan!