Monday, January 27, 2020
Motivation to Exercise: Social or Personal Factors?
Motivation to Exercise: Social or Personal Factors? Everybody needs to exercise regardless of ones age, gender, socio-economic status, or even physical or mental capabilities. Exercising can be in the form of sports, going to the gym or merely just walking around the housing area. According to Hornby (2005), the word exercise means activities; bodily activities such as moving the extremities or the trunk and psychological actions that is done in order to maintain health. According to Bouchard, Blair and Haskell (2007), exercise is basically considered as a repetitive psychical activity that is done to spend ones free time in order to sustain and increase a persons bodily robustness. Exercise, defined as planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement done to improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness (National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Panel, 1996). Exercise: physical activity carried out for the sake of health and fitness (Soanes Stevenson, 2004). Now the question is does everybody exercise ? Is motivation important in exercising? What usually motivates a person to exercise? We know the answer to the first question by just looking at the people around us. Not everyone we know exercise. Yes, motivation is very important to exercise. As that influences a person to exercises or not to exercise. A person who exercises generally has a motive or also widely known as motivation. Motivation, according to Hornby (2005) is the explanation for a person to act in a certain manner. Motivation: the stimulus, incentive, or inducement to act or react in a certain way. Purposeful behavior is motivated behavior, which means that either physiologic or social stimuli activate or motivate a person to do something (Nunez Fehrenbach, 2007). There are different aspects to motivation. It could be an external factor or an internal factor. External motivation:  incentive that accrues as a result of influence from outside sources; inducement to act or change based on the expectations and e xamples of other people. Internal motivation: incentive that accrues from within an individual; inducement to act or change based on an inherent or intrinsic desire (Nunez Fehrenbach, 2007). Motivation to exercise would vary between one person to the other. It could be to lose weight, to maintain their body figure, to increase ones self esteem, to spend time with friends or to stay healthy by avoiding degenerative diseases such as obesity, cardio-vascular disease, and hypertension. This research focuses on the two factors that contribute to the motivating a person to exercise which are the social factors and the personal factors. What is a social factor? According to Hornby (2005), the word social is defined as associated with actions that revolve around folks so that they get to congregate for contentment. The word factor according to Hornby (2005) means the reason to engage in an activity. Social motivation: an incentive or drive resulting from a sociocultural influence that init iates behavior toward a particular goal. (Nunez Fehrenbach, 2007) The social factors that is tested in this study are time spend with friends, wining in physical activities over friends, fitting in social circle and so on. What is personal factor? According to Hornby (2005), the word personal means that a person has possession of something and others do not own it. Self-motivated: motivated to do something because of ones own enthusiasm or interest, without needing pressure from others, acting on ones own initiative without external pressure (Soanes Stevenson, 2003). The personal factors that are tested in this research are that exercising gives people the time to think, to keep ones body healthy and so on. One theoretical perspective that appears useful for understanding various motivational issues in physical activity settings is self-determination theory (SDT; Deci Ryan, 2002). SDT accounts for the quality of motivation regulating behavior, as well as, the processes that facilitate motivational development (Deci Ryan, 2002) that holds considerable appeal for understanding why people initiate, persist, and terminate their involvement in various physical activities (Hagger Chatzisarantis, 2007). According to Deci and Ryan (2002), basic psychological needs represent innate nutriments (p. 7) that when satisfied authentically within social contexts promote integration, adaptation, and directly impact well-being. In contrast, environments that stifle opportunities to satisfy basic psychological needs provoke ill-being (Deci Ryan, 2002). SDT proposes that motivation is multidimensional and resides along a continuum of self-determination ranging from amotivation (i.e. when a person lacks the motivation to act) through extrinsic motivation (i.e. when a person acts in response to external cues) to intrinsic motivation (i.e. when a person acts for the inherent pleasure derived from that particular activity) (Deci and Ryan, 1985). The basic psychological needs for competence (effectively mastering challenging tasks within ones environment; Deci Ryan, 2002), autonomy (feeling a sense of ownership over ones behaviors such that they stem from an internal perceived locus of causality; Deci Ryan, 2002), and relatedness (feeling a meaningful connection with others in ones social milieu; Deci Ryan, 2002) have long been advocated within the SDT framework as fundamental to human development and well-being. SDT also considers that what goal a person holds for the activity will be important for a number of outcomes (Deci Ryan, 2002).. The content of goals can be classified as either intrinsic or extrinsic (Kasser Ryan, 1996). Intrinsic goals, such as the formation of social relationships and self-development, stem from a persons core values and are inherently rewarding to pursue. As such, they promote self determined behavior and well-being (Furnham et al., 2002). In a study conducted by Fontaine et al. (2002) based in an African American Apostolic church, 48 participants completed measures of social support, health-related quality of life, depression, exercise self-efficacy, and exercise motivation and then participated in an exercise program for 6 months. Exercise Motivation Inventory used to determine the personal motivations to participate in an exercise program comprised 14 subscales: stress management, revitalization, enjoyment, challenge, social recognition, affiliation, competition, health pressures, ill-health avoidance, positive health, weight management, appearance, strength and endurance, and nimbleness, where a higher score predicted a higher motivation. This study found that, in this community, people with high scores on affiliation were more likely to attend the exercise program. The authors concluded that exercise adherence is a complicated phenomenon that is influenced by a variety of environmental, personal, and social factor s. Social factors, in particular, may be important in promoting adherence to an exercise program in African Americans. However, it must be noted that the sample size for this study was small which prohibited the use of multivariate statistical techniques (i.e., logistic regression) to evaluate the predictive value of the study variables (Fontaine et al., 2002). In another study conducted by Gillison (2001) using a sample of 580 British schoolchildren, a model grounded in self-determination theory was explored to examine the effects of exercise goals on exercise motivation, leisure-time exercise behavior. Exercise goal content was measured using the Reasons for Exercise Inventory. Motivation towards exercise was measured using The Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire. This study hypothesized that self-determined motivation would partially mediate the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic goal content and leisure-time exercise. Intrinsic (and therefore more adaptive) goals for exercise can persist despite the presence of body related anxiety. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that adolescents perceiving themselves to be overweight and pressurized to lose weight endorsed extrinsic weight-related goals for exercise. Extrinsic goals negatively predicted, whereas intrinsic goals positively predicted, self-determined motivation, which in turn positively predicted exercise behavior. Self-determined motivation partially mediated the effects of exercise goals on reported exercise behavior. Results suggest that holding extrinsic exercise goals could compromise exercise participation levels. Teachers and parents are proposed with the aim of orienting young people towards intrinsic goals in an attempt to enhance future exercise behavior. It was hypothesized that self-determined motivation would positively predict participants leisure-time exercise. Conversely, extrinsic goals stem from aims to achieve outcomes separable from the activity it self, such as wealth and status, and are usually formed in response to external pressures. Extrinsic exercise goals negatively predicted, while intrinsic goals positively predicted, levels of self-determined motivation. In turn, greater self-determination in motivation predicted higher levels of leisure-time exercise. Fostering intrinsic goals could be beneficial for improving the mental health and exercise behavior in adolescents (Gillison, 2001). Dishman, Hales, Ward, Pfeiffer, Felton, Saunders, Dowda and Pate (2006), conducted a study on 1250 girls (39% White, 54.6% Black and 3.9% Others) whose mean age are of 17.66 years old from public high schools in South Carolina. The results of their study indicated that as bodily actions and partaking in games increases in an individual, their general perception of ones physical self increases too. General perception of ones physical self in this study focuses on aspects such as power, stamina, looks, and skills in a game. This means that people take part in games and exercise to increase their self-esteem or skills to avoid psychological conditions like depression. Although this study was conducted only among females and of those in the youth category, the results can still be applied to people of all ages and all walk of lives as exercising and its motivation are applicable for everyone. Ekeland, Heian, and Hagen (2005) conducted a study on 1821 kids and youngsters on the relationship between self-esteem and exercising. They discovered that physical activity is highly related positively with self-esteem. As the number of participants is high, the results can be well substantiated. On the other hand, there are many social factors that seem to be more convincing as compared to personal factors in predicting the motivation on exercising. Group cohesion plays an important role in this content. It contributes a positive connection on exercising regarding different aspects of group. All individuals that formed a group will become more significant. A persons act is influence by a group. It has been proven that there are effective associations between the mutual effort and conceptions of stay in a group. Abele and Ehrhart (as cited in Spink, Wilson, Priebe, 2010) proposed that as peoples thought themselves and others were in the same group, peoples were put more efforts toward the task that they work together. There are five specific variables identified by Carron Hausenblas (1998). The five variables are common fate, mutual benefit, social structure, group processes, and self-categorization. Common fate can be described as an event that joins by all the group membe rs and they share the same consequences together (Fiedler, 1967). Mutual benefit implies that the requirements obtained among the group members in a certain works (Bass, 1960).Whereas social structure can be defined as the position and duty in a group (Sherif Sherif, 1956). Shaw (1981) commented group processes as the conversation and useful interactions that take place within a group. The last variable that is self-categorization implies a sense of belongingness in one group (Brown, 1988). The five variables play an important role in the social aspect part to determine the motivation towards exercising. There is hypothesis on the five variables; common fate, mutual benefit, social structure, group processes, and self-categorization have a definite connection to the self-report regarding the devotion in an exercising activities (Spink, Wilson, Priebe, 2010). There are four evidences that support this hypothesis. Previous research conducted by Massie Shephard (1971) showed that th e attendance is higher in group-based exercise programs than individual or family ones. Steers Rhodes (1978) found out that there is a different type of adherence; energy expenditure can be seen in individual that more apprehend on group aspects in their structured exercise assembly. Furthermore, groupness can be considered to be related to adherence in exercise programs as members show more interest in remaining in a group through the cohesion mechanism that aid in fasten peoples together (Fraser Spink, 2002). Another factor that motivates exercising is exercising with the presence of friends. This happens especially in low-self monitoring individuals. The character that friend act in a persons life is significant as considered in the amount of time spend, variability of activities and role that friend can play. By viewing in this context, the fact that friend plays an important role in an individuals lives cannot be deny. It is an important matter to choose a compatible friend to engage in social activities particularly in exercising. Some knowledge and skills on the appropriate way to perform the activities is useful if all of these own by the friend (Synder, Gangestad, Simpson, 1983). The exercise that carry out seem to be much more easier if one is accompanied by friend that displayed competence and expertise in performing particular activities (Synder, Gangestad, Simpson, 1983). One that is get motivated will do more effort in displaying his or her competency and expertise and act in a suitable way in carry out certain exercise because of the opportunity that he or she received from friend that considered specialist in an activity (Synder, Gangestad, Simpson, 1983). There is also fact that friend will affect one in exercise through the mindset, affection, and choice towards partner that one will carry out physical activities with (Synder, Gangestad, Simpson, 1983). The extent to which a person shows his or her liking towards the partner will influence a person in engaging in an activity. There are people who look for coherence between their attitude and course of action in real life. In this case, people particularly in low-self monitoring person will be more likely to spend their time with their preferred partner. Correspond to this; the person will increase their approach towards specific peoples in their social circle and also their behavioral preference in the activities with those that they preferred (Synder, Gangestad, Simpson, 1983). There are some differences between high-self monitoring and low-self monitoring people in selecting their social partner. In general, the presence of friend is substantial in boosting the attitude in engaging social activities like exercise. Belza, Walwick, Schwartz, LoGerfo, Shiu-Thornton, Taylor (2004), conducted their study on 71 adults (42 females and 29 males) with their mean age being 71.6 years old on seven groups that differ in ethnicity and their mother-tongue in America such as the African American, American Indian, Native Alaskan, etc where almost 35 of them exercise on a regular basis. The participants were asked on what drove them to exercise (eg: wellbeing looks, able to hang around wi th people and so on). They found that most the participants believe that they exercise because they it benefits them both in the social aspect and health purposes (to manage constant conditions such as ache, high blood pressure, arthritis and high glucose level in the blood). He also found that when a persons overall motivation (social and personal) drops, his or her bodily activity level drops as well. This study is done to investigate whether personal factors or social factors contribute more motivation to exercise. Theory of self-efficacy, which states that the more individuals believe in their ability to perform a course of action and in the positive outcomes of those actions, the more likely they will be to initiate and persist in a given activity (Bandura, 1997). Bandura (1997) describes four sources of information that influence self-efficacy expectations (and presumably outcome expectations) and consequently actual behavior: performance of the activity, verbal encouragement from others, exposure to role models, and physiological feedback or physical sensations experienced during the activity. In a study aimed at establishing what aspects of self-efficacy theory helped initiate and engage in regular exercise, and what decreased the willingness to exercise, a total of 148 older adults from 12 Senior Centers participated, with the majority of the participants being female African American. Findings support the use of the theory of self-efficacy to change behavior among minority older adults. In this study, the extrinsic incentives were emphasized to motivate the participants. The motivational component of the program included verbal encouragement and goal setting with small incentive gifts for goal achievement, cueing to exercise through the use of written material and calendars, and role modeling of exercise through exposure to the lay exercise leader and other group members. The participants in this study specifically recognized the importance of social supports as a source of motivation to exercise. The participants reported that it was laziness that prevented them from exercising, and they needed the group interaction to motivate them to come to exercise class. This external force helped participants to rekindle old exercise habits, to initiate an exercise program, or to increase the amount of exercise they did. This study was limited in that it included only older adults who volunteered to participate in an exercise program and regularly attended senior centers (Lu isi et al., 2006). Methodology Participants Data was collected from 27th up to 31st January 2011. There were 130 subjects (51 males and 79 females) who filled the survey completely. The age range was from 18 to 65 years old and the mean age was 22.669 years old. The data was consisting of 58 Malay, 17 Chinese, 21 Indians, and 34 participants from other race such as; Korean, African, Sikh, Arabian, Pakistani and Mauritanian. We also asked their perspective of their body weight by rating the scale which provided inside the demographic (refer to appendix B). We did a convenience sampling survey in Petaling Jaya and Johor. Refer to table 1. Demographic Mean Frequency Percentages Age Gender Male Female Total Ethnicity Malay Chinese Indian Others Total Perspective of body weight Underweight Normal Overweight Obese Total 22.669 130 51 79 130 17 58 21 34 130 9 99 20 2 130 100 39.2 60.8 100 13.1 44.6 16.2 26.2 100 6.9 76.2 15.4 1.5 100 Measurement The survey questions were adapted from The Exercise Motivation Inventory (Markland and Hardy, 1993) questionnaire. However, we selected and modified some of the questions. In total, there was 20 Questions inside our survey which contained of 10 Social Factor question and 10 Personal Factor Question. This survey used a 5 scale; Not Important=1, Less Important= 2, Neutral=3, Moderately important=4, and Very Important=5. The measurement was appropriate for our study because it was not only asking people who do any exercise regularly such as fitness but also for people who do not regularly exercise. The questionnaire was referring to healthiness, diet and body shape, and environment relation. Furthermore, EMI is suitable to be assigned to younger (at least 18 years old) and older people. Procedure First, we developed the survey and delivered it to course instructor. After receiving the approval we then can started collecting the data. The participants were asked by the researchers to fill the survey voluntarily. After they agreed, they were given a consent form and the survey form. All information about this study was clearly written down on the consent form. It took approximately 10 minutes to fill the survey and participants may withdraw from the study anytime when they feel unsecure or disturbed. After they fully filled the survey, they may give it back to the researchers and leave. We found some problems while collecting the data, some of the subjects refuse to join this study because they do not understand the English language properly, they needed to go to their next class, below the minimum age or just refused to participate without any reason. Results To investigate the relationship between types of motivation and level of motivation, a Paired Sample T-Test was used. As seen in Table 2, there is a significant relationship between types of motivation and level of motivation, t (129) = 8.479, p Table 2 Mean Differences Between Personal Factors and Social Factors that motivate Exercising Variable                                                      Mean          df           t                         Personal Factors Social Factors Older Adult Perspectives on Physical Activity and Exercise: Voices From Multiple Cultures Basia Belza, PhD, RN, Julie Walwick, MSW, Sheryl Schwartz, PhD, James LoGerfo, MD, MPH, Sharyne Shiu-Thornton, PhD, and Mary Taylor, BSN, RN (2004) Bouchard, C., Blair, S. N., Haskell, W. L. (2007). Physical activity and health. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Dishman, R.K., Hales, D.P., Pfeiffer, K.A., Felton,G., Saunders,R., Ward, D.S., Dowda,M. and Pate, R.R. (2006). Physical Self-Concept and Self-Esteem Mediate Cross-Sectional Relations of Physical Activity and Sports Participation With Depression Symptoms Among Adolescent Girls. Health Psychology, 25(3), 396-407. Ekeland,E., Heian, F., Hagen, K.B.(2005). Can exercise improve se;f-esteem in children and young people? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 39, 792-798. Hornby, A.S.(2005). Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Christian Unity and Ecumenism Essay -- Ecumenicalism, Ecumenical Movem
The ideal of unity seems to be of great importance in the religious world, but rarely is it ever achieved among professed Christians. However, it is vitally important to comprehend unity in its Biblical light. Jesus prayed in John 17:21, â€Å"That they all may be one, as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.†By definition, unity is the state of being one. In order to have a unified church every member must be one one with the Father and the Son. Subsequently, to achieve such an oneness, each member must be perfectly holy, because God is holy. Unfortunately, this is where a clear contrast is made between the saints and mere religious professors. Religious professors practice ecumenism at the cost of disregarding God's word. Religion will sacrifice the doctrine of Christ in order to achieve an outward union. Religion will make allowances for sin, worldliness, heresies, and other spirits of ungodliness in order to gain a universal, all inclusive church. Ecumenism is the spirit of the age and its origins can be traced to the pits of hell, the promoter of Babylon. Ecumenical spirits influence various religions to lay aside theological differences, and accept and tolerate diverse beliefs coming together and forming ecclesiastical bonds. Historically, Catholics and Protestants fought each other, and not only through verbal exchange, but through physical means as well. World and religious leaders today advocate accepting all faiths and tolerance of differing viewpoints. For the most part they reflect the ideals of the general consensus. Popular opinion suggests that there are various paths to God, and it is narrow minded to believe there is only on... ...ls short of it will be eternally lost. The message of the Church of God is â€Å"come out of her my people and be not a partaker of her (Babylon) sins.†Come out of all false religion, even if it be under the guise Church of God. Renounce sects, denominations, and systems of men! Forsake ecumenism for it is the promotion of Satan and is available at a bargain rate at almost every religious grocer's market, but at the price of eternal damnation. It costs nothing to obtain the approval of religious establishments, but will cost man his soul because it does not obtain the approval of God. Ecumenism is of the flesh and has deceived and will continue to deceive multitudes. There is only one kind of unity that meets the approval of heaven and the criteria of God's word, and it is the unity of the spirit. May fellowship first begin with God, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Compare and Contrast Essay Essay
Placing a cigarette between his lips, he struck a match, inhaled smoke, and hurriedly put out the light. Almost immediately a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof. This scene is from â€Å"The Sniper,†a story that is suspenseful throughout. Another story that is suspenseful throughout is â€Å"The Most Dangerous Games.†â€Å"The Most Dangerous Games†and â€Å"The Sniper†have many similarities and much differences such as the authors of the stories who are from different parts of the world, but write using a similar setting, plot, theme, and characters that overcome adversity. Richard Connell, the author of â€Å"The Most Dangerous Games,†and Liam O’Flaherty, the author of â€Å"The Sniper,†have many similarities and many differences, such as where they were born, when they started writing and what they wrote. Liam O’Flaherty was born on one of the Aran Islands in 1896; on the other hand Richard Connell w as born in 1893. Both of them were born in the 1890’s. Richard Connell started to write when he was 10 years old. To contrast, O’Flaherty wrote his first novel in 1923 so when he was 27. O’Flaherty had originally planned on being a Roman Catholic priest. Unlike O’Flaherty, Connell started to write when he was a child. Richard Connell is American; O’Flaherty is an Irish author. The authors might be from different parts of the world, but they have many similarities. There are many differences and similarities between â€Å"The Most Dangerous Games†and â€Å"The Sniper,†such as the setting, the plot, and the theme. Richard Connell and Liam O’Flaherty both write about the consequences of killing people. Some differences in the theme are that O’Flaherty presents the character as a fanatic which ends up getting someone he loves killed. On the other hand, Richard Connell presents a character with wicked uncanny thoughts of killing humans as a game, with the theme of killing others which eventually gets you killed. The setting in â€Å"The Most Dangerous Games†is on a remote island. In contrast, â€Å"The Sniper†takes place in the city of Dublin, Ireland. They both take place in the 20th century, and both take place outdoors. Both plots have suspense throughout the whole story. â€Å"Zarroff,†a main character o f â€Å"The Most Dangerous Games,†and the â€Å"sniper†of â€Å"The Sniper†have many similarities and many differences, such as their war history, and why and how they killed. Zarroff is Russian and fought in the Russian Revolution.
Friday, January 3, 2020
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