The Power Of Groups: Collective Effervescence Is Related To Group Fitness Participation

Collective effervescence—a psychological experience that may occur when one feels a sense of unity and shared emotion with a crowd (e.g., during concerts, church, or sporting events) —has not yet been explored in the group fitness domain. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to determine if the tendency to experience collective effervescence is higher among participants of group vs. independent fitness and if that leads to positive fitness outcomes. METHODS: Group fitness (GF; n = 97) and independent fitness (IF; n = 109) participants completed an online survey. Outcomes included collective effervescence tendency (Tendency to Engage in Effervescent Assembly Measure; TEAM), physical activity enjoyment (Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale; PAE), exercise commitment (Exercise Commitment Scale), and physical activity (World Health Organization’s Global Health Physical Activity Questionnaire). Mann Whitney U was used to analyze differences between groups. Mediation analysis was used to determine if TEAM mediated the relationship between GF participation and outcome variables. RESULTS: The GF group was older (41.6 ± 1.2 vs. 35.6 ± 0.8 years, p < 0.001) and had a greater (p < 0.001) proportion of women (85.6%) compared to the IF group (53.2%). Body Mass Index was similar (p > 0.05) between the groups (24.7 ± 0.3 and 24.4 ± 0.3 kg/m2, respectively). The GF group had higher TEAM and PAE scores (p < 0.001). With regards to exercise commitment, the GF group had a higher want to commit (p < 0.001), have to commit (p = 0.006), satisfaction (p < 0.001), personal investment (p < 0.001), social support (p < 0.001), and lower social constraints (p < 0.001), involvement alternatives (p < 0.001), and personal investment (p < 0.001) compared to the IF group. Moderate physical activity was similar between groups (154 ± 31 vs. 128 ± 11 min/week; GF vs. IF; p > 0.05), whereas vigorous activity was higher in the GF group (172 ± 15 vs. 82 ± 14 min/week; p < 0.001). Mediation analysis demonstrated that TEAM mediated the relationship between GF and exercise commitment (want to commit, satisfaction, social constraints, involvement alternatives, personal investment, and social support). CONCLUSION: Group fitness participants had higher TEAM, and in turn, higher exercise commitment. Future studies should explore exercise prescription based on TEAM.