University of Twente Student Theses
The role of compensatory health beliefs and personality sructure in exercise behavior - Applying the theory of planned behavior on the explanation of exercise behavior
Heinz, Stephanie (2013) The role of compensatory health beliefs and personality sructure in exercise behavior - Applying the theory of planned behavior on the explanation of exercise behavior.
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| Abstract: | Nowadays, healthy lifestyles, including sufficient exercise, seem omnipresent and more important than ever. However, many people do not engage in sufficient exercise, risking the development of serious diseases (e.g. heart diseases, diabetes etc.). To monitor and improve exercise behavior among the Dutch population, the Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) developed three exercise norms. In everyday life many temptations interfere with plans to live healthy. To justify unhealthy choices, people may create Compensatory Health Beliefs (CHBs), trying to compensate their unhealthy behavior with healthy behavior. The main objective of this study is to examine if the four constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and intention, the pesonality traits of the Big Five or use of CHBs can predict the achievement of the three exercise norms. A sample of 242 students participated in an online survey study, consisting of questions from the CHB scale, questions measuring actual exercise behavior, questions measuring the TPB constructs and questions measuring the Big Five personality traits. A chi-square test showed that Dutch students were more likely to achieve the norms than German students and that the four constructs of the TPB correlate with the achievement of the norms. Further, a hierarchical logistic regression showed that university students, compared to students with higher vocational education, and respondents who feel less healthy are not likely to reach the norm. Overall, the TPB is the best predictor. Neither personality, nor CHBs seem to add sign variance in explaining exercise behavior. Explaning exercise behavior, the original CHB scale does not have additional value beyond the TPB. However, for further research the use of a more exercise specific CHB scale is proposed. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/64790 |
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