# Motivation and emotion/Book/2023/Physical activity tracking and exercise motivation

* Multimedia presentation (3 min)

## Overview

Apple watches, WHOOP bands, Fitbit, Strava, MyFitnessPal. What do all of these brands have in common? They assist in self tracking physical activity. The quantified self is an emerging science where individuals are engaging in self tracking of any physical, biological, or behavioural information (Swan, 2013). Self tracking can be extremely beneficial when motivating individuals to exercise, including improved enjoyment, challenges, and positive health motivation (Bice et al; 2014). There are multiple theories that encompass exercise motivation, such as self determination theory, achievement goal theory and functionalist perspective on motivation. Understanding these concepts will help individuals understand their own motivation, and behaviour when it comes to physical activity.
* Focus questions:
* What are the different types of motivation?
* What are the theories of motivation in response to exercise?
* What is the quantified self?
* How does physical activity tracking play a role in exercise motivation?

## What is physical activity?

Physical activity (Casperson et al; 1985) can be described as any bodily movement that expends energy, often measured in calories. This can include varied movements such as sports, occupational tasks, or any other activities that require your skeletal muscles to produce movement. Casperson et al (1985) explains the different definitions of physical activity, exercise and physical fitness and how exercise and physical fitness are subsets of the previous definition of physical activity. Exercise can be defined as a "subset of physical activity that is planned, structured, repetitive and has a final objective of improvement or maintainance of physical fitness" (Casperson et al, 1985). An example of the difference between the two is that physical activity could be as simple as washing the dishes after dinner, and then exercise would be having a planned cleaning regime where your goal is to wash dishes every night and to clean more dishes at a faster pace. There is a positive relationship between physical activity and exercise.
A study authored by Dishman et al (1985), established common motives of physical activity. The main contribution was personality of the individual, knowledge of the health benefits, enjoyment, and an individual's self motivation. The authors made a point to establish that "behavioural differences" are important to note and be accommodated to during the activity regime. Further in the chapter, the motivation aspect of increased physical activity will be addressed.

## What is motivation?

Motivation is "the internal condition that activates behaviour, influences needs and desires" (Huitt, 2011). It is the component in an individual that energises goal-directed behaviour, such as exercise. Motivation is required for all areas of learning, as it is recognised to be present at the root of all activities (Borah, 2021) and can be the reason one individual performs in one way compared to another. It is important for an individual to recognise their desires and goals in an aspect of their life, as motivation stimulates the individual to work effectively and concentrate (Borah, 2021). What wakes you wake up in the morning? Why are you reading this book chapter? Motivation is the core of behaviour, and influences how individuals treat certain activities in their daily life. Our body automatically motivates in order to receive the needed stimuli for survival. The chart below explain some, but not all, of the sources of motivation needs.
Table 1.
| | Characteristics |
| Behavioural | Elicited by stimulus associated/connected to innately connected stimulus Obtain desired, pleasant consequences (rewards) or escape/avoid undesired, unpleasant consequences |
| Social | Imitate positive models Acquire effective social competence skills |
| Biological | Increase/decrease stimulation (arousal) Activate senses (taste, touch, smell, etc.) |
| Cognitive | Maintain attention to something interesting or threatening Develop meaning or understanding |
Source: Motivation to Learn: An Overview

### Types of motivation

There are three types of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation. For this section, only intrinsic and extrinsic motivation will be explored. Intrinsic motivation is the inherent desire to engage one's interests and to exercise and develop one's capacities (Reeve, 2018). Intrinsic motivation produces rewards for the individual after doing said activity. It is the motivation that "predicts persistence and performance" (Fishback & Woolley, 2022). The individual is actually unable to separate the action with receiving the benefit. The main reward received is the accomplishment of simply just completing the task at hand. Some causes of intrinsic motivation are:
* unique goal association
* repeated activity-goal pairing
* fit between the activity and goal
* proximity of the activity and the goal
Source: The Structure of Intrinsic Motivation
A model that explains intrinsic motivation is the Means-Ends Fusion model. The key outcome from this model explains the fusion of performing an activity to the goal it serves (Fishback & Woolley, 2022). The activity and reward become one, such as eating a delicious meal to receive the reward of eating delicious food.
Extrinsic motivation is an environmental reason to engage on an action or activity (Reeve, 2018). Extrinsic motivation "refers to the performance of a behaviour that is fundamentally contingent upon the attainment of an outcome that is separable from the action itself" (Legault, 2020). The action is performed in order to receive some other outcome.

### Motivation associated with exercise

Intrinsic motivation is the type of motivation associated with exercise. Due to this, individuals that participate in exercise are more likely to "feel energised, confident, and satisfied in one's activity" (Ryan et al,1997). While there can be instances where extrinsic motivation is used for exercise, intrinsic motivation is required for adherence and creates a positive relationship between the enjoyment motivation and overall satisfaction with exercise (Ryan et al. 1997). The following section will entail the different theories of intrinsic motivation.

## What are the theories of motivation?

People may have different motivations for performing the same behaviour.

### Functionalist perspective of motivation

The functionalist perspective on motivation explains how motivations are complex and multiple. It suggests that behaviour serves different functions for different people, and that the match between a person's motivations and outcomes determines their level of satisfaction and likelihood of continuing the behaviour (Kuhl, 2001). A key point of the functionalist perspective is that "people can and do perform the same actions in the service of different psychological functions" (Clay et al, 1998). Asah and Blahna (2012), discuss the theory of functionalism and how individuals showed that the same attitudes serve different functions for different people, further explaining how individuals motivate themselves to exercise are to each their own.

### Self-determination theory

Self determination theory (STD) is "an approach to human motivation that uses traditional empirical methods while employing an organismic meta-theory that highlights the importance of humans' evolved inner resources for personality development and behavioural self-regulation" (Ryan & Deci, 2000). In other words, it focuses on people's growth tendencies and their innate psychological needs that are the foundations for their self motivation. Three needs were identified by Ryan and Deci (2000) to produce growth:
* competence
* relatedness
* autonomy
Competence has been found to increase intrinsic motivation, as the individual is receiving feedback, communication, or rewards that encourages the behaviour. Another study Deci conducted in 1975, showed that positive feedback enhanced intrinsic motivation, and negative feedback decreased it. Autonomy intertwines with competence, as "feelings of competence will not enhance intrinsic motivation unless accompanied by a sense of autonomy" (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Additional studies conducted by Deci et al (1997) supported the idea that autonomy supportive parents raised more intrinsically motivated children, and that there is a strong relationship between intrinsic motivation and the need for autonomy. For the third need, SDT suggests that over the life span, "intrinsic motivation is more likely to flourish in contexts characterised by a sense of security and relatedness" (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Manoogian and Reznick (1976) conducted a study that was able to conclude that children had a low level of intrinsic motivation when working on an activity in the presence of a stranger who ignored them and their activity. Similar results are seen with school kids who have a teacher that shows little to no interest in their school work (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Social determination theory also focuses on the social environments that "are antagonistic" (Ryan & Deci, 2000) towards these goals.

### Achievement theory

There are numerous definitions of achievement theory, but to sum all of them, achievement theory is the "subjective and internal psychological drive, encouraging individuals to continue to pursue activities they find to be valuable" (Singh, 2011). This theory explains how individuals have a drive to continue and try to excel in their tasks. Achievement theory, being the "need to perform well or the striving for success, and evidenced by persistence and effort in the face of difficulties" (Singh, 2011) is considered a central part of motivation. Moore et al (2010) described the achievement theory as "attempting to explain and predict behaviour and performance based on an individual's need for achievement and affiliation". It is clear that this theory correlates with intrinsic motivation, and hence, will contribute to the exercise motivation of an individual.

## What is the quantified self

The quantified self (QS) is the data science of individuals engaging in self tracking of any kind, including biological, physical, and behavioural information (Swan, 2013). QS is a relatively new concept termed, so there is limited research and definition of this concept. Over years, self tracking has become easily accessible and convenient through the technology advancement of phones, tablets, watches etc. Self tracking "involves practices in which people knowingly and purposively collect information about themselves, which they then review and consider applying in their lives" (Makonnen & Mende, 2021). Members of QS collect their own data by recording and analyzing their personal behaviours, usually with the aim to "optimise their health, performance, or everyday life" (Gimpel et al, n.d.). According to Maltseva and Lutz (2018), QS contains the stages of data collection, visual representation of data, cross-linking of data to discover correlations, gaining and acting upon insights. While QS can be applied in all areas of life, this chapter will focus on the fitness aspect. Maltseva and Lutz (2018), explain that research has shown that "self quantification does indeed have a positive effect on performance".
While it is definitely possible to create your own record from scratch, there are now countless devices and apps that encourage self monitoring. Devices such as a phone, apple watches, and Fitbits are all devices commonly used by consumers to do this. There are also a variety of applications that are designed to make tracking easy and accessible to individuals. These apps can include Strava, Apple Health, Habitfy etc. According to Makonnen and Mende (2021), "health and fitness apps ranked 9th out of 34 categories on the App Store". The market for this technology is rapidly growing (Maltseva & Lutz, 2018).

## How does the quantified self intertwine with exercise motivation?

The quantified self, or self tracking, is able to positively influence exercise motivation. A meta analysis performed by Jin et al (2020), was able to find that the main outcomes produced from activity tracking is "task motivation, health, and physical activity level... and these outcomes have been shown fairly consistent and positive" (Jin et al, 2020). Previous research has supported these findings, with the conclusion that activity tracking "has a positive impact on user's motivation to be physically active" (Jin et al, 2020). A year long study conducted by UCLA health researchers were able to find that wearing fitness trackers (fitness watches around the wrist) created a personalised guidance and encouragement during exercise for the participants, that then led to improvements in sleep and exercise (UCLA Health, 2022). Relating back to self determination theory, the results from this additional study that was performed to measure the impact of fitness self tracking on user's wellbeing, "show that interacting with achievement related elements in self-tracking technology fulfils the need for competence and relatedness" (Jones et al, 2022). Users in this study were able to feel confident in their success.
A longitudinal randomised control trial performed by Stiglbauer et al (2019), were able to conclude that self tracking technology has "a statistically small but significant effect on users' perceived physical health and their sense of accomplishment". Additionally, the participants were able to increase their overall health consciousness, wellbeing, positive emotion and accomplishment (Stiglbauer et al, 2019). While these studies and prior research have gaps and limitations, it is obvious that self tracking can enhance exercise motivation, with the theories underlined previously.

## Conclusion

With technology constantly evolving, it has been easier than ever to self track your physical activity through devices and apps already tailored for you. In this chapter, motivation was defined as the internal condition that activates behaviour, and influences needs and desires for an individual. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were explored, with intrinsic motivation relating to exercise as the action and goal are connected as one. Theories of motivation that correlate to exercise are the functionalist perspective of motivation, which explains how everyone has their own personal motivation to perform the same task. Self determination theory looks at the tendencies for an individual to grow and self motivate their behaviours, and achievement theory explains the personal drive an individual has to complete and be successful at a given task. The quantified self, also known as self tracking, is a way for people to analyse their behaviours, and optimise their life in response to their trends. Self tracking has been found to increase intrinsic motivation, further enhancing exercise motivation. Benefits of self tracking can include increased wellbeing, health, and overall accomplishment. It is important to understand all of these concepts, as it encourages individuals to acknowledge their own personal motives for exercise and whether self tracking would benefit their life.