Publication
Title
Boosts for walking : how humorous messages increase brisk walking among cognitively fatigued individuals
Author
Abstract
Background A well-studied internal barrier to regular physical activity, and more specifically brisk walking, is cognitive fatigue. However, thus far little research examined how cognitively fatigued individuals can be motivated to exercise, more specifically to engage in brisk walking. This study investigates whether humorous intervention messages might be an effective strategy to motivate cognitively fatigued individuals to brisk walk, and through which underlying processes.Methods An online experiment was performed in which variation in cognitive fatigue was induced through mental arithmetic questions. Afterwards, participants (n = 250) recruited through Prolific, randomly received either humorous or non-humorous intervention messages related to brisk walking. Potential mediators of the relations between physical activity, humour and cognitive fatigue were measured, were self-efficacy, self-control, and motivation.Results First, regression analyses confirmed that cognitive fatigue negatively influences brisk walking intentions and that the perceived humour of the intervention messages moderated this relationship. Second, results showed that self-control and self-efficacy are mediators explaining the relationship between cognitive fatigue and brisk walking intentions. Lastly, this study found that perceived humour of the intervention messages moderated the relationship between cognitive fatigue and self-control, indicating that perceptions of self-control were positively changed after receiving messages that were perceived as humorous compared to messages that were not perceived as humorous, subsequently increasing brisk walking intentions.Conclusions This study is the first to unravel the underlying relationship between humorous intervention messages and brisk walking intentions through positive changes in perceptions of self-control within a cognitively fatigued sample. Results of this study suggest that existing smartphone applications monitoring and promoting brisk walking should integrate tailored message strategies within their cues to brisk walk by implementing humour as a strategy to motivate users when they are cognitively fatigued.
Language
English
Source (journal)
BMC public health. - London
Publication
London : 2024
ISSN
1471-2458
DOI
10.1186/S12889-023-17464-Z
Volume/pages
24 :1 (2024) , p. 1-18
Article Reference
128
ISI
001139143500001
Pubmed ID
38195517
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Just in time! Using personal and contextual data to stimulate healthy behavior through adaptive interventions: Theoretical framework, technological building blocks and empirical evidence.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 01.02.2024
Last edited 04.11.2024
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