exercise on days when they did not feel like exercising. The significance of these findings is discussed in regard to the self-schemata and exercise behavior.
BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 1988, 9(1), 45-59 Copyright © 1988, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Self-Schemata and Exercise Deborah Kendzierski Villanova University
The present study examined whether exerciser schematics, nonexerciser schematics, and aschematics differed in their self-reported exercise behavior, as well as whether they differed in their thoughts and feelings about exercising. Analyses revealed that exerciser schematics exercised more frequently, did more activities for exercise, were more likely to have exercised the previous semester, were more interested in and committed to exercising in the future, had made more plans to help themselves to exercise regularly, and had a somewhat greater number of tricks or strategies for getting themselves to exercise on days when they did not feel like exercising. The significance of these findings is discussed in regard to the self-schemata and exercise behavior literatures and in regard to implications for interventions to promote exercise.
There has been a considerable amount of research on self-schemata since the publication of Markus's (1977) infiuential article on that topic. Selfschemata — cognitive generalizations about the self derived from past experience and focused on those aspects of the self that are regarded by the individual as important — have been found to affect the processing of information about the self. For example, self-schemata influence the speed and content of judgments about oneself, predictions about one's future behavior, and resistance to schema-inconsistent information, as well as memory for schema-related stimuli and behavior (Kendzierski, 1980; Kuiper, 1981; Kuiper & Rogers, 1979; Markus, 1977; Markus, Hamill, & Sentis, 1979; Rogers, Kuiper, & Kirker, 1977). Moreover, researchers have demonstrated that self-schemata influence the way individuals process information about other people, with schematics being more likely to notice self-schematic traits in others (Fong & Markus, 1982; Hamill, 1980; Markus & Fong, 1979; Markus & Sentis, 1982; Markus & Smith, 1981; Markus, Smith, & Moreland, in press). And researchers have shown that selfRequests for reprints should be sent to Deborah Kendzierski, Department of Psychology, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085.
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schemata also influence individuals' cognitive responses to, and evaluations of, persuasive communications (Cacioppo, Petty, & Sidera, 1982). Finally, self-schema effects have been found in regard to areas as diverse as independence-dependence (Markus, 1977), body weight (Markus, Hamill, & Sentis, 1979), and sex roles (Markus, Crane, Bernstein, & Siladi, 1982). Although self-schemata have been the subject of much research, it should be noted that this research has focused on the effects of self-schemata on perception, inference, and memory. There is a dearth of research, however, on the effect of self-schemata on behavior. Yet, according to the original theoretical formulation, self-schemata should influence behavior. In her seminal article, Markus (1977) suggested: "Self-schemata can be viewed as implicit theories used by individuals to make sense of their own past behavior and to direct the course of future behavior" (p. 78, italics added). More recent theorizing has also suggested that there are links between self-schemata and action (e.g.. Cantor, Markus, Niedenthal, & Nurius, 1986). The present study was conducted to examine the links between selfschemata and action in the domain of exercise behavior. Exercise is a very important health behavior. Research indicates that exercise has positive effects on both physical and mental health (Martin & Dubbert, 1982). Not only does exercise play an important role in modifying cardiovascular disease risk factors, in controlling weight, and in the behavioral management of diabetes (for reviews, see Siscovick, LaPorte, & Newman, 1985; Thomas, Lee, Franks, & Paffenbarger, 1981), but it is also associated with decreases in depression and anxiety, increases in feelings of well-being and confidence, improved self-concept, and tension reduction (for reviews, see Folkins & Sime, 1981; Hughes, 1984; Morgan, 1982; Taylor, Sallis, & Needle, 1985). Yet, despite the physical and psychological benefits of regular exercise, research indicates that 41
