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Faculty Advisor

Dr. Joseph A. Mikels

Abstract

Physical activity is one of the most protective health behaviors one can engage in, yet 75% of active adults in the US, meaning those who exercise regularly, fall short of the recommended levels of physical activity, with an even greater percentage of older adults living inactive lives, meaning they exercise minimally and engage in prolonged sedentary behavior (CDC, 2019). The goal of the current study was to explore different types of message framing targeted at encouraging older and younger adults to exercise. We recruited older adults (n = 184; Mage = 69.45 years, age range: 65- 80 years) and younger adults (n = 233; Mage = 24.74 years, age range: 18-30 years) to read exercise- related messages. Intrapersonal statements emphasized the personal health benefits of exercise (e.g., “Regularly engaging in aerobic exercises will improve your health”). Interpersonal statements emphasized the social benefits of exercise (e.g., “Regularly exercising will increase the quality of your social interactions”). For each statement, participants indicated: (1) their feelings about the statement, (2) their perceived effectiveness of the statement in motivating them to exercise, and (3) their exercise intentions. Results indicated that both age groups felt more positively, expressed greater perceived effectiveness, and reported higher exercise intentions for the intrapersonal relative to interpersonal statements. Interestingly, the difference was larger for older relative to younger adults, suggesting that emphasizing health versus social benefits mattered slightly more for older relative to younger adults. The findings from the current work shed light on how to motivate older and younger adults to exercise and could be used by researchers and practitioners designing exercise interventions

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