Associations of affective experience with the urge to engage in physical culture and sports: a cluster-based typology of students’ affective profiles

The purpose of the study is to identify significant variables of affective experience associated with physical exercise that influence motivation to engage in physical culture and sports, and to identify affective profiles in subgroups of individuals who do and do not participate in physical culture and sports during their free time. Research methods and organization. To achieve the research objectives, survey methods and mathematical statistics (GLM, cluster analysis using the k means method, nonparametric tests, Spearman correlation) were applied. Students (women aged 18–20) from Pskov State University were surveyed. The individual questionnaire "Population Health Status" and the AFFEXX questionnaire were used. Research results and conclusions. It was established that for those engaged in physical culture and sports in their free time, attraction was, on average, above the neutral level, whereas for those not engaged, it was below. In the group of participants, attraction was more strongly associated with variables of basic affect ("type 1"), primarily "pleasure" and "calmness," whereas for non-participants, it was associated with cognitive evaluations ("type 2"): "interest," "demonstration," and "benefit." Attraction correlated weakly but significantly with the duration of training activity. In both subgroups, six affective clusters were identified, qualitatively differing in combinations of basic affect, cognitive evaluations, and attraction. Positive cognitive evaluations of physical culture and sports without a pronounced positive baseline affect are weakly associated with actual training activity, whereas baseline affect is more strongly linked to motivation and the immediate implementation of physically active behavior. Students' affective experiences are heterogeneous, which justifies the need to design physical education and wellness programs taking into account specific affective profiles rather than the averaged 'low-activity' student.