The effects of motivational interventions upon the exercise adherence of high and low self-motivated adults.

Two studies were carried out to investigate the utility of an interactionist approach to motivating involvement in an exercise program. In both studies the Self-Motivation Scale (Dishman, Ickes and Morgan, 1980) was used to classify program participants according to their level of self-motivation. Participants for each category were then assigned to experimental or control conditions. A decision balance-sheet technique was the treatment intervention in the first study while a structured social support intervention was implemented in the second study. In both cases, the motivational treatment resulted in an improvement in program attendance but there was no effect due to level of self-motivation nor its interaction with the treatment. The results are interpreted as being consistent with a situationist perspective of behavior; however, the need for further research using an interactionist approach is emphasized. Implications for exercise practice are discussed.