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This chapter explores three independent sections dealing with health, anxiety and physical exercise. Sport psychologists have historically focused on the relationship between anxiety and performance in sport settings, and this is understandable when one considers the brief history of sport psychology. The relationship between arousal and sport performance has been analyzed from a number of perspectives in recent years. The earliest point of view was derived from drive theory. Drive theory predicts that performance increases with elevations in arousal. Individuals who engage in habitual physical activity report that exercise makes them “feel good,” and the sensation of feeling good following a vigorous exercise bout undoubtedly explains why many people exercise on a regular basis. Repeated measures designs have been employed in most of the published studies involving the influence of exercise on state anxiety. The typical design has consisted of administering the state anxiety scale to subjects under resting conditions, and then again following exercise of varying intensity and duration.

(2001). Salient findings: Summaries of key findings in the research literature. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis: Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 364-370.

Despite the remarkable advances in our understanding of the many healthrelated benefits of physical activity, adherence ligures in formal exercise programs have continued to average about 50% over the past three decades. It is proposed in the present paper lhat a paradigm shift is needed since traditional exercise prescription models have been in effective. The proposed pafadigm shift calls for the adoption of (a) an idiographic approach as opposed to the conventional nomothetic model in place at the present time. (b) preferred exertion rather than a given percent of maximum in the prescription of exercise intensity. and (c) purposeful physical activity as opposed to the nonpurposeful approaches characteristic of many formal exercise programs. A summary of ten cases is presented, and this qualitative research reveals adherence figures ranging from 5 to 79 years. The remarkable adherence ol 100% is characterized by adoption of purposeful physical activity by these individuals.

This paper summarizes the results of published studies in which physical activity has been performed by patients with panic disorder. Several case studies of apparent exercise-induced panic attacks were found. However, in field studies that involved ambulatory monitoring of panic disorder patients only 1 of 91 panic attacks that were monitored actually occurred while the test subject was engaged in moderately intense physical activity. Moreover, only five panic attacks occurred in association with 444 exercise bouts performed by 420 panic disorder patients in laboratory settings despite the fact that exercise induces somatic signs and symptoms of anxiety. Thus, the weight of the published evidence shows that acute physical activity does not provoke panic attacks in panic disorder patients.

Published in the year 1987, Exercise and Mental Health is a valuable contribution to the field of Counseling and School Pscyhology.

Part 1 :general principles methodological considerations mental health through prevention exercise prescription exercise adherence drug therapy and exercise. Part 2: psychological responses to exercise antidepressant effects of exercise anxiolytic effects of exercise exercise and the self-esteem overtraining and staleness. Part 3: hypothesized mechanisms endorphin hypothesis norepinephrine hypothesis serortonin hypothesis thermogenic hypothesis.

This report summarizes the health behaviors and psychological characteristics of fifteen male marathon runners who were first tested in 1969 (N = 8) and 1976 (N = 7). The participants in this study averaged 29 years of age at the outset, and the mean age at the time of follow-up was 50 years. These subjects were found to score in the normal range on all of the psychological variables, and they were characterized by the "iceberg" profile described earlier for elite athletes in various sports. This profile includes scores that fall below the population average on mood states such as tension, depression, anger, fatigue and confusion along with above average scores on vigor. Also, the psychological traits of these former runners have been remarkably stable across the past two decades, with the exception that a uniform decline has been observed for the neuroticism measure. Earlier research by Eysenck has shown that neuroticism decreases with age. These former marathon runners continue to be moderately active, and it is noteworthy that they first became involved as runners while in high school. All but one of the participants had attended college, and each had participated in competitive running while in college. Training for marathon competition took place following the college years. It is likely that much of the early success enjoyed by this group was governed to a substantial degree by heredity. This sample possessed an average aerobic power of 70 ml.kg-1.min-1 along with a unique somatotype when first tested, and these factors are known to have a substantial heritability component. The health behaviors studied in this group were uniformly positive. They were found to be physically active, and their physical self-esteem fell above that of other men in their age group. The subjects reported moderate use of alcohol, no insomnia, few physical problems and good overall mood. The sample of former marathon runners described in this report is unique in a number of respects, and caution is urged in making generalizations. With this qualification in mind, it is concluded that a lifetime of regular physical activity is associated with desirable physical and mental health.

Athletes travel across multiple time zones in order to engage in national or international competition. It has often been assumed that rapid transmeridian translocation has a negative impact on athletic performance. However, the available studies are characterised by major methodological problems. Consequently, no compelling evidence exists demonstrating that air travel adversely influences athletic performance. Evidence suggests that distance and sprint running performance, as well as dynamic muscular strength and endurance of the elbow flexors, is impaired following west-east travel across 6 times zones in untrained individuals. However, there is no evidence that these findings for untrained subjects generalise to athletes. Both physiological and psychological mechanisms might account for potential effects of travel on athletic performance, but little is known about these potential mechanisms with regards to athletic performance. Systematic research is needed if the relationship between air travel and athletic performance is to be elucidated.

Recreational scuba diving is associated with a significant number of fatalities and decompression illnesses each year, and there is evidence that permanent neuropsychological injury can occur in divers. There is also evidence that the principal cause of decompression illness and fatalities in divers is rapid ascent, and it appears that the primary stimulus for rapid ascent is panic. The primary purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the extent to which an objective measure of trait anxiety could be effective in predicting panic behavior in students undergoing scuba training. Trait anxiety was assessed at the outset of scuba instruction in 42 students, and the instructor recorded instances of panic behavior during the 4-month course. It was predicted that individuals scoring 39 or greater on the trait anxiety sub-scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory would be more likely to experience panic behavior than individuals with scores below this cut-off. Predictions and actual recordings of panic behavior were performed independently using a blinded paradigm. Eleven of the students exhibited panic behavior on two or more occasions during the instruction, and 35 of 42 (83 %) predictions were accurate (p < 0.001). It is concluded that an objective measure of trait anxiety can be employed a priori for prediction of panic behavior in beginning scuba students.

This study examined the influence of hypnosis, autogenic relaxation, and quiet rest on selected affective states and metabolism. The influence of body position (seated vs. supine) on these same outcome measures was also investigated. Anxiety, tension, and overall mood were assessed before and 30 minutes after each treatment, and oxygen uptake was measured continuously. State anxiety, tension, and a general measure of mood were reduced significantly following each intervention, but oxygen uptake did not change with the exception of small, transient alterations during the physical challenges performed in the hypnosis condition. It is concluded that administration of a routine hypnosis induction to healthy individuals results in a reduction of state anxiety and an improvement of mood commensurate with effects achieved by autogenic training and quiet rest, and these effects occur in both the supine and seated position.

The effect of imagery perspectives, i.e. internal imagery vs. external imagery, on the psychophysiological responses to imagined exercise was investigated in the present study. Thirty male and female college students were randomly assigned to perform either internal imagery, external imagery or simple rest in addition to actual exercise. Metabolic, cardiovascular and perceptual responses were recorded before, during and after imagined exercise, actual exercise and rest. The results indicated that internal imagery resulted in a significant increase in ventilation and this response differed from the control condition. Effort sense was higher with internal imagery compared with external imagery. However, both internal and external imagery produced significant elevations in systolic blood pressure (SBP) from pre-to post-imagery, and these values were identical to those observed with actual exercise. Therefore, some responses to imagery were like those seen during actual exercise. Oxygen consumption (V˙O2), respiratory rate (RR), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), heart rate (HR) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were similar between internal and external imagery. It is concluded that the psychophysiological responses to internal imagery resemble actual exercise more than external imagery.

The perception of effort is multidimensional and it is governed by many physiological, psychological, and experiential factors. This paper deals with a discussion of selected psychological states and traits that are known to be correlated with the expression of effort sense. It has been shown that anxiety, somatic perception, depression, and neuroticism are associated with perceived exertion. Extroversion has been found to be inversely correlated with perceived exertion, and positively correlated with preferred exercise intensity. These empirical findings are congruent with theoretical expectations in each case. It has also been found that perception of effort can be increased and decreased in a systematic manner with various psychological interventions such as hypnotic suggestion, dissociative cognitive strategies, and imagery. Changes in effort sense can also be systematically modified by titrating exercise volume (e.g., overtraining, tapering), and this exercise-induced alteration in perception covaries with affective changes. The research reviewed in this paper supports the conclusion that effort sense is best conceptualized as a complex psychobiological construct as originally proposed by Borg three decades ago.

For centuries, Man has had strong opinions about the importance of exercise in the maintenance of physical and mental health. Unfortunately, very little systematic study has been conducted to determine whether there is a relationship between exercise and mental health and, if a positive relationship exists, what specific factors under the broader rubric of “exercise” are responsible for its effectiveness in the maintenance and restoration of health.

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the efficacy of a dissociative cognitive strategy in facilitation of endurance performance. A pilot study of endurance performance was conducted in which 15 subjects ran to exhaustion on a motor-driven treadmill at 80% of maximal aerobic power (MAP). These subjects were randomly assigned to a cognitive strategy (dissociation), placebo, or control group and retested. The group employing the cognitive strategy was superior (+19%) to the control and placebo groups. In the second experiment control (N = 13) and dissociation (N = 14) groups were tested at 80% of MAP under baseline conditions, and again at the same metabolic demand with the exception that subjects in the experimental group employed the dissociative cognitive strategy used in the pilot study. The two groups were found to be remarkably similar on all physiological measures, but the dissociation group experienced a significant performance gain. The exercise metabolite, blood lactate, was similar in the two groups, and plasma catecholamine levels were higher in the dissociation group. This implies that distraction of sensory discomfort enabled subjects in the dissociation group to tolerate a greater amount of discomfort for a longer period of time. These findings suggest that a cognitive strategy based upon dissociation of sensory input can facilitate endurance performance on tasks of the type employed in the current investigation.

It is widely agreed that overtraining should be employed in order to achieve peak performance but it is also recognised that overtraining can actually produce decrements in performance. The challenge appears to be one of monitoring stress indicators in the athlete in order to titrate the training stimulus and prevent the onset of staleness. The present paper summarises a ten-year research effort in which the mood states of competitive swimmers have been monitored at intervals ranging from 2-4 weeks during individual seasons for the period 1975-1986. The training cycle has always involved the indoor season which extends from September to March and the athletes who served as subjects were 200 female and 200 male competitive swimmers. The results indicate that mood state disturbances increased in a dose-response manner as the training stimulus increased and that these mood disturbances fell to baseline levels with reduction of the training load. Whilst these results have been obtained in a realistic setting devoid of experimental manipulation, it is apparent that monitoring of mood state provides a potential method of preventing staleness.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the interaction between anxiety and physical work capacity (PWC). Thirty college-age females completed the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and their physical work capacity was assessed by either a bicycle ergometer or treadmill test across 3 days within 1 week. The subjects in the ergometer group pedalled at 60 rpms and 25 watts for 4 minutes with increases of 25 watts each 4 minutes thereafter. The standard Balke treadmill test was employed for the treadmill group. PWC was evaluated by time in seconds to criterion heart rates of 150 and 170 beats per minute, as well as self-determined exhaustion (PWC150, PWC170, and the PWCmax). Analysis of variance revealed no significant difference in PWC or state anxiety across days, and PWC was not correlated with state or trait anxiety under any of the conditions. Also, the self-report anxiety data were in agreement with heart rate and blood pressure responses. It is concluded that a single test is ...

The purpose of this investigation was to develop and refine a psychometric measure of self-motivation and assess its relationship to adherence to programs of habitual physical activity. Following construction of a Self-Motivation Inventory, a series of studies were conducted involving the pretesting of undergraduate males and females (N= 401) and subsequent validation work involving intercollegiate women athletes (N= 64) and adult males (N= 66) in actual exercise settings. Results of the psychometric work provided evidence for the logical validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the self-motivation construct. In addition, convergent and discriminant evidence was provided for construct validity through self-motivation's pattern of association with other conceptually relevant psychometric variables. Finally, from the standpoint of behavioral validation, self-motivation proved to be the best discriminator between exercise adherers and dropouts among the psychological variables employed and was strongly related to program adherence in both exercise settings. In fact, when combined with selected morphologic variables in a psychobiologic framework, self-motivation scores were found to accurately classify participants according to their adherence status in approximately 80% of all cases and to account for nearly 50% of the variance in exercise adherence behavior.

A series of psychological concepts are developed in this paper for use by coaches, trainers, physical educators, and physicians in the field of sports medicine. The concepts which are advanced deal with (1) the psychological characteristics of selected athletic sport groups, (2) the psychological characterization of successful and less-successful athletes, (3) tension states and the necessity to handle athletes on a personalized basis, (4) the role of mental health in sport, and (5) the importance of looking beyond conscious verbalizations in attempting to understand the athlete's behavior. These concepts have been specified and elaborated upon, implications delineated, and conclusions presented.

(1980). The Trait Psychology Controversy. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport: Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 50-76.

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the influence of acute physical activity and meditation (“noncultic”)on state anxiety. Seventy-five adult male volunteers served as Ss with 25 Ss randomly assigned to either an exercise, meditation, or control group. Physical activity was performed at 70% of self-imposed maximal exercise heart rate for 20 minutes by Ss in the exercise group; Ss assigned to the meditation group practiced Benson's Relaxation Response for 20 minutes; and Ss in the control group simply rested quietly in a “Lazyboy” chair for 20 minutes. State anxiety was measured with the Spielberger Scale, and it was assessed (1)prior to, (2)immediately following, and (3)10 minutes following each treatment. Oxygen consumption, heart rate, skin temperature, and blood pressure were also measured as confirmatory variables under selected conditions. The data were analyzed by means of a two-way repeated measures ANOVA, and this analysis revealed that a significant reduction in anxiety occurred for each treatment. This held for both those Ss falling within the normal range for state anxiety and those Ss regarded as high-anxious. It was also noted that none of the physiological variables differed significantly following the control and meditation treatments. The present evidence suggests that acute physical activity, noncultic meditation, and a quiet rest session are equally effective in reducing state anxiety.

Mood, as measured by the Profile of Mood States questionnaire, and resting salivary cortisol levels were examined in 14 female college swimmers during progressive increases and decreases in training volume, and were compared to the same measures in eight active college women who served as controls. Training volume increased from 2,000 yards/day in September (baseline) to a peak of 12,000 yards/day in January (overtraining), followed by a reduction in training (taper) to 4,500 yards/day by February. The swimmers experienced significant (p less than 0.01) alterations in tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue and global mood across the training season compared to the controls. Salivary cortisol was significantly (p less than 0.01) greater in the swimmers compared to the controls during baseline and overtraining, but was not different between the groups following the taper. Salivary cortisol was significantly correlated with depressed mood during overtraining (r = .50; p less than 0.05) but not at baseline or taper. Global mood, depression, and salivary cortisol were significantly (p less than 0.05) higher during the overtraining phase in those swimmers classified as stale, compared to those swimmers who did not exhibit large performance decrements.

Selected physiological and psychomotor variables of depressed and nondepressed psychiatric patients were investigated. A comparison of the fractionated MMPI D Scale and Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) was also made. A further subsidiary problem studied was the role of alcoholism in depression as it contributed to selected physiological and psychomotor variables. Participants in this study consisted of 69 male psychiatric patients between the ages of 20 and 50 years. All patients were tested within 48 hours after admission to the Toledo State Hospital and prior to the administration of medication. Previous research indicating that motor dysfunction was closely related to the degree of psychopathology was generally not substantiated by this investigation. It was concluded that the patient's verbalization of physiological and psychomotor retardation appeared to mirror his affective state rather than his physical competence. The SDS appeared to be the most efficacious method of assessing qu...

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of various hypnotic suggestions on perceptual and metabolic responses to a standard bicycle ergometer task. 5 Ss exercised for 5 minutes on a bicycle ergometer at a work load of 600 kpm and 50 rpm. However, each S was told that he would exercise at a light, a moderate, and a heavy work load under hypnotic conditions A, B, and C, respectively. Condition D (waking control) involved the same suggestions administered in condition B. The dependent variables were: perceived exertion, heart rate, oxygen uptake, oxygen debt, respiratory exchange ratio, excess carbon dioxide production, ventilatory minute-volume, ventilatory efficiency, and rectal temperature. These physiological assessments were made throughout the induction, explanation of work, exercise bout, and recovery period. The perceived exertion rating was made in the waking state following this 40-minute session. Analyses of variance for multifactor experiments with repeated measur...

(1969). A Pilot Investigation of Physical Working Capacity in Depressed and Nondepressed Psychiatric Males. Research Quarterly. American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 859-861.

While antidepressant medications and electroconvulsive therapy have been shown to be effective treatments for severe depression, mild and moderate depressions seldom respond to medications and are usually managed by a variety of psychotherapies, all of which are equally and minimally beneficial. Clinical experience suggested that physical activity might be helpful in treating moderate depression. After reviewing the available literature (analogue studies suggested a negative correlation between exercise and depression), we conducted a clinical study comparing a 10 week course of thrice weekly walking-jogging-running with 10 weeks of two different psychotherapies. Patients with moderate (“neurotic-reactive”) depression were randomly assigned to the three treatments. Walking-jogging-running was at least as effective as either psychotherapy and cost a quarter as much to adminster. Follow-up shows continued freedom from depression in runners, most of whom have continued the treatment on their own. Possible mechanisms of reaction will be discussed.

This review has dealt with the psychological problems associated with the use of industrial respirators. The need for men and women to wear various self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) while working in hostile environments such as toxic and oxygen deficient atmospheres is well documented. Extensive research has been carried out in an attempt to improve the design of respirators, and major advances have resulted in the manufacture of SCBA that insure health, safety, and performance. Indeed, recent research reveals that performance decrements associated with the wearing of respirators are due entirely to pak weight; that is, breathing resistance no longer appears to be a significant problem in most cases. Despite the fact that major advances have taken place in the design of respirators, it is still widely recognized that "psychological" problems continue to exist. Unfortunately, very little research has been directed toward an understanding of the "person" component of the respirator-person interface; that is, research has focused on respirator variables with little attention paid to person variables. While it has been proposed that certain "types" of individuals be eliminated from work tasks requiring the wearing of SCBA, there has not been a concise diagnostic statement presented to enable such a screening approach to be adopted.

There is disagreement in the literature as to whether responsivity to painful stimuli possesses psychometric correlates. A series of methodological and statistical factors are specified in this paper which could account for the equivocality of the literature. A series of experiments were performed in which (a) various methodological and statistical issues were first resolved and (b) psychometric correlates of pain perception were then identified by means of a stepwise multiple regression procedure. The criterion variable consisted of the psychophysical judgment of pain during a 2-min. exposure to a 3,000 gm. force on the periosteum of the left fore-finger's second digit. The predictor variables consisted of selected psychological stares and traits measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Somatic Perception Questionnaire, Depression Adjective Checklist, Profile of Mood States, Eysenck Personality Inventory, and the Embedded Figures Test. The test-retest reliability of the pain test ranged from .64 to .84 across trials separated by a 3-wk. period. In the first experiment significant multiple regressions ranging between .57 and .72 were observed, and psychological traits (field dependence, extraversion and trait anxiety) accounted for the variance in these analyses. In the next experiment significant multiple Rs ranging from .62 to .68 were observed. This served as cross-validation for the first experiment. The major difference was that psychological states (depression and vigor) as well as traits entered the multiple regression equations for certain of the analyses. It was concluded that selected psychological states and traits are significantly correlated with the perception of pain.

The purpose of this study was to describe the pattern of change in effort sense and the value of this pattern in predicting work end-point at relatively high work intensity (80% V̇O2 max). The patterns of change of various physiological functions were also observed. Two modes of work (walking and running) were compared to ascertain generalizability of results. 26 healthy male volunteers served as subjects. Time to exhaustion (ET) did not differ between walking and running. As work continued during both tasks, significant increases of V̇E, V̇E/V̇O2, V̇E/V̇CO2 and HR and a significant decrease of ET were observed; while V̇O2 and R remained fairly constant. V̇O2 and V̇E during the run were about 5% greater than during the walk; there were no differences in other measures. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) from the Borg Scale were identical for both conditions, increasing in a near linear fashion from a value of 12.9 at 25% of total work time to 18.9 at exhaustion. Ratings obtained at 25 and 50% ET were extrapolated to time of exhaustion; the point of intercept corresponded to ratings of perceived exertion for maximal work. At exhaustion, subjects rated perception of respiratory exertion for the walk as less than that for the run; perception of leg exertion was not different for the two conditions. Plasma lactate, epinephrine and norepinephrine concentrations following exercise did not differ between the two conditions. The findings for the walking experiment were essentially replicated in a second investigation involving another 28 subjects. It is concluded that, with the exception of V̇O2 and some ventilatory parameters, walking and running ar the same relative work intensity resulted in comparable perceptual and physiological responses. Psychophysical judgments made early during work were reasonably accurate predictors of exhaustion time.

Five adult males cycled an electrically braked ergometer at a resistance of 100 watts for 20 minutes on four occasions. The treatments were counterbalanced and consisted of exercise in the control waking and hypnotic states, and the waking and hypnotic states with suggestions of heavy work. The dependent measures were perceived exertion, heart rate, V·O2, V·CO2, and VBTPS. A significant (p

(1981). The 1980 C. H. McCloy Research Lecture: Psychophysiology of Self-Awareness during Vigorous Physical Activity. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport: Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 385-427.

Vigorous exercise is associated with a sensation of well-being, and this subjective state has been objectively quantified with psychometric, cardiovascular, and neurophysiological data. Reductions in state anxiety have been demonstrated to follow acute physical activity, and this response persists for 2-5 h. Chronic physical activity has been associated with reductions in anxiety and depression, as well as increases in self-esteem. This research has been limited to designs of a correlational nature, and the issue of causality vs mere association has not been resolved or addressed. Three hypotheses based upon distraction, monoamine metabolism, and endorphin release are discussed in this paper. Investigators have traditionally attempted to illustrate the mechanism involved in improved mood following exercise by testing one of these or related hypotheses, but it is likely that advances will not be made in this area until these hypotheses are examined in a multiple or synergistic manner. It is concluded that each of the hypotheses reviewed remains tenable.

It has been recognized for many years that factors of a psychogenic nature can influence resting as well as exercise metabolism, and the primary purpose of the present review was to summarize existing evidence dealing with this topic. The review is focused primarily upon experimental evidence involving the hypnotic manipulation of metabolism, since most of the relevant literature has relied upon utilization of the hypnotic tool. Several investigations involving non-hypnotic manipulations are directly related to the general research theme, and these reports are also included in the review. Following a general overview, research involving the influence of cognition and affect on heart rate, cardiac output, forearm blood flow, respiration rate, ventilatory minute volume, and oxygen consumption at rest is considered. The following section deals with the influence of cognition and affect, as well as perception on these same physiological parameters during exercise. It is concluded that psychogenic factors representing the cognitive, affective, and perceptual domains can significantly influence resting as well as exercise metabolism.

Positive emotional and psychological benefits are commonly believed to result from chronic physical exercise. While reviews of research have failed to substantiate this general proposition, they have identified enhanced self-esteem as an empirically supported exercise outcome. Unfortunately, research in this area has tended to be simplistic in self-esteem theory and measurement and has remained incapable of addressing how or why change may occur. This paper summarizes pertinent self-esteem theory and presents an empirically based rationale for self-esteem enhancement through exercise participation. It constructs a model for examining exercise and self-esteem interactions in which components of self-structure are hierarchically organized on a basis of generality. The self-esteem model contains dimensions of competence and self-acceptance, and it is operationally defined.