BACKGROUND: Prior research has found affect to predict exercise. Little research has examined the causal influence of exercise-related affect on exercise intentions.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test whether expectations about post-exercise affect can be successfully manipulated to produce changes in post-exercise affect and exercise intentions. We also tested whether cognitively elaborating on the expectation would increase the duration of the expectation effect.
METHODS: Participants (59 men, 89 women) were exposed to an affective expectation manipulation as well as an elaboration manipulation and then completed 10 min of light-intensity exercise on a stationary bicycle in the laboratory. Participants also completed a 2-week follow-up.
RESULTS: Affective expectation participants displayed more positive post-exercise affect and exercise intentions than no-expectation participants (ps < .05). Affective expectation participants who also elaborated on that expectation reported more positive post-exercise affect during the follow-up than the no-elaboration participants (p < .05).
CONCLUSION: Expectations about positive post-exercise affect can be experimentally manipulated to increase exercise-related feelings and intentions. The duration of this effect increases when individuals cognitively elaborate on the expectation.