Automatic Behavioral Tendencies To Conserve Energy

The theory of effort minimization in physical activity (TEMPA) assumes that biomechanically efficient behaviors may have a rewarding value and that an evolutionary inclination to avoid any unnecessary physical activity (PA) acts as a restraining force that hinders the ability of individuals to implement their conscious intention to exercise. PURPOSE: To examine whether there is an automatic approach or avoidance tendencies towards activities that conserve energy. METHODS: Participants (≥18 years old) completed an Approach-Avoidance Task as a measure of automatic behavioral tendencies toward activities that are energy-conserving (EC) or energy expending (EE). During the task, participants listened to a short description of a scenario that describes situations where individuals are faced with behavioral alternatives (e.g., taking stairs versus elevators). Participants were then asked to react to the format of the stimuli (square or circle) in which the stimuli contained an image depicting the target concepts (EC and EE). An accelerometer was used to measure daily activity over a seven-day period. Data analyzed using a 2 trial types (approach and avoid) × 2 stimuli (EE and EC) analyses of variances. RESULTS: Sixty-six participants (63% women; 92% students) were included in our final sample (M ± SD: 23 ± 8 y, 26.2 ± 19.1 kg/m2). There was a significant Stimulus Type × Trial Type interaction (F1,86 = 5.01, p = 0.02, eta2 = 0.05) indicating that participants had a greater tendency to approach and an impaired tendency to avoidance the EC stimulus. When light intensity PA (LPA) was added as covariate, a significant 3-way interaction (Trial Type × Stimulus Type × LPA) was shown (F1,64 = 4.7, p = 0.03, eta2 = 0.07). Bonferroni pairwise comparisons revealed reaction time differences in both Stimulus and Trial Types (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively) among those engaging in high LPA, but not low LPA. CONCLUSION: In support with the concept of TEMPA, our findings demonstrated that individuals have greater approach tendencies towards EC cues. Our result also indicated individuals who spend more time in light-intensity activity may have a greater affinity to conserve energy. The attraction to energy efficiency may have reinforced by individuals’ task-related PA demands. Future research is required to investigate this further.