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International audience; The replication crisis in psychology has led to question popular phenomena such as ego depletion, which has been criticized after studies failed to replicate. Here, we describe limitations in the literature that contributed to these failures and suggest how they may be addressed. At the theoretical level, the literature focuses on two out of at least eight identified auxiliary hypotheses. Thus, the majority of the hypotheses related to the three core assumptions of the ego-depletion theory have been overlooked, thereby preventing the rejection of the theory as a whole. At the experimental level, we argue that the low replicability of ego-depletion studies could be explained by the absence of a comprehensive, integrative, and falsifiable definition of self-control, which is central to the concept of ego depletion; by an unclear or absent distinction between ego depletion and mental fatigue, two phenomena that rely on different processes; and by the low validity of the tasks used to induce ego depletion. Finally, we make conceptual and methodological suggestions for a more rigorous investigation of ego depletion, discuss the necessity to take into account its dynamic and multicomponent nature, and suggest using the term self-control fatigue instead.

Evidence shows that people with strong physical activity habits tend to engage in more physical activity than those with weaker habits, but little is known about how habit influences specific types of physical activity. This study aimed to test whether mean level of habit strength and magnitude of the habit strength – behaviour association differed as a function of physical activity modality. Participants (N = 120; M age = 25 years, 75% female) reported significantly stronger habit for sport than for leisure time physical activity. Crucially, no significant difference was found in the magnitude of the sport-habit and leisure-habit link. Research should therefore focus on identifying the characteristics of sports-based activity that are particularly conducive to habit formation as a precursor to developing interventions to promote performance of leisure time activity in a way that would attain such characteristics.

Understanding what predicts behavior change is a hot topic in health psychology, especially with regard to physical activity. While existing research has revealed key factors of physical activity (e.g., reasoned cognitions, automatic processes), it fails to accurately identify those that are specific to the most inactive populations (e.g., older adults, obese individuals, women, people living with chronic disease). In this commentary, we propose to articulate current approaches of health behavior change with the social psychology of stereotypes, based on the observation that inactive groups are often targeted by negative stereotypes. This articulation may allow to better identify the barriers to physical activity that are specific to individuals from the most inactive groups. More particularly, we propose that low self-control resources, indexed by perceived fatigue, and negative self-perceptions may be key factors of physical inactivity in these individuals. This proposition could in turn help to explain why some behavioral change techniques that are efficient in healthy or young adults are inefficient in other individuals.

BackgroundDigital interventions integrating gamification features hold promise to promote physical activity (PA). However, results regarding the effectiveness of this type of intervention are heterogeneous. This study aimed to examine potential moderators of the effectiveness of a gamified intervention in a large-scale sample and in real-life conditions. Specifically, we tested (1) whether a gamified intervention enhanced daily steps during the intervention and follow-up periods compared to baseline, (2) whether this enhancement was higher in participants to the intervention than in nonparticipants, and (3) what participants’ characteristics or intervention parameters moderated the effect of the program.MethodsData from 4812 individuals who registered for a Kiplin program between January 1st, 2019, and January 2nd, 2022 were analyzed. PA was assessed via the daily step count of participants. Exposure to the intervention, the intervention content, and participants’ characteristics were included in multilevel models to test the study objectives.ResultsCompared with nonparticipants, participants who benefited from the intervention had a significantly greater increase in mean daily steps from baseline during the same period (b= 0.55,p7500 baseline daily steps had no improvement or significant daily step decreases during the intervention. Age (b= 0.05,pb= 0.37,pDiscussionThe Kiplin gamified intervention was effective to improve PA during intervention and follow-up periods in comparison to baseline daily step count and to nonparticipants. Responses to the intervention significantly differed as a function of individuals’ initial PA. The engagement with the service and the age of the participants positively moderated the intervention effect. This study confirms the effectiveness of gamified interventions to promote PA in real-life.Data, code & supplemental materialshttps://osf.io/scnu7/

Health behaviours change is a major challenge to prevent premature deaths, such as those caused by physical inactivity and unhealthy diet behaviours. However, health-behaviours change interventions have shown modest or no efficiency across studies and meta-analyses. This finding is likely the consequence of a common feature of the main theoretical frameworks that (i) focus mainly on motivational forces facilitating the new targeted health behaviours, and (ii) omit the motivational forces that prevent the competing unhealthy behaviours. They also overlooked the motivational forces preventing the targeted health behaviours and those facilitating the competing unhealthy behaviours. We therefore argue in favour of (a) a more comprehensive approach of the motivational forces underlying the individual’s health behavioural change; (b) the development of combined interventions, targeting simultaneously the appropriate preventing and facilitating motivational forces, regarding the individual baseline profile; and (c) the consideration of the motivational conflicts resulting from opposing motivational forces, by training people to mobilize the adaptative conflict resolution strategies. Finally, we call for future research and interventions to adopt a new agenda to evaluate and promote health behaviour change by: (i) characterizing baseline individual motivational profiles; (ii) characterizing preferred conflict resolution strategies; (iii) intervening on the appropriate motivational forces and conflict resolution strategies; (iv) evaluating the intervention’s efficiency.

To assess whether changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviour during the COVID-19 lockdown are associated with changes in mental and physical health. Observational longitudinal study. Participants living in France or Switzerland responded to online questionnaires measuring physical activity, physical and mental health, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Paired sample t-tests were used to assess differences in physical activity and sedentary behaviour before and during lockdown. Multiple linear regressions were used to investigate associations between changes in physical activity and changes in mental and physical health during lockdown. 267 (wave1) and 110 participants (wave2; 2 weeks later) were recruited. Lockdown resulted in higher time spent in walking and moderate physical activity (~10min/day) and in sedentary behaviour (~75min/day), compared to pre COVID-19. Increased physical activity during leisure time from week 2 to week 4 of lockdown was associated with improved physical health (β=.24, p=.002). Additionally, an increase in sedentary behaviour during leisure time was asso- ciated with poorer physical health (β=−.35, p=.002), mental health (β=−.25, p=.003), and subjective vitality (β=−.30, p=.004). Ensuring sufficient levels of physical activity and reducing sedentary time can play a vital role in helping people to cope with a major stressful event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Declines in subjective energy availability and cognitive functions could explain the decrease in physical activity observed across aging. However, how these factors interact remains unknown. Based on the theory of effort minimization in physical activity (TEMPA), we hypothesized that cognitive functions may help older adults to maintain physical activity even when energy availability is perceived as insufficient. This study used data of 104,590 adults from 21 European countries, from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), including 7 measurement occasions between 2004 and 2017. Cognitive functions were assessed with verbal fluency and delayed recall, using the verbal fluency test and the 10-word delayed recall test. Physical activity and subjective energy availability were self-reported. Results of linear mixed-effects models revealed that cognitive functions moderated the associations between subjective energy availability and physical activity. Moreover, as adults get older, cognitive functions became critical to engage in physical activity regardless the availability of perceived energy. Sensitivity and robustness analyses were consistent with the main results. These results suggest that cognitive functions may help older adults to maintain regular physical activity even when energy for goal pursuit becomes insufficient, but that the protective role of cognitive functions becomes critical at older age, irrespective of the state of perceived energy.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-021-00654-2.

OBJECTIVE: Habits, defined as well-learned associations between cues and behaviours, are essential for health-related behaviours, including physical activity (PA). Despite the sensitivity of habits to context changes, little remains known about the influence of a context change on the interplay between PA habits and behaviours. We investigated the evolution of PA habits amidst the spring COVID-19 lockdown, a major context change. Moreover, we examined the association of PA behaviours and autonomous motivation with this evolution.DESIGN: Three-wave observational longitudinal design.METHODS: PA habits, behaviours, and autonomous motivation were collected through online surveys in 283 French and Swiss participants. Variables were self-reported with reference to three time-points: before-, mid-, and end-lockdown.RESULTS: Mixed effect modelling revealed a decrease in PA habits from before- to mid-lockdown, especially among individuals with strong before-lockdown habits. Path analysis showed that before-lockdown PA habits were not associated with mid-lockdown PA behaviours (β = -.02, p = .837), while mid-lockdown PA habits were positively related to end-lockdown PA behaviours (β = .23, p = .021). Autonomous motivation was directly associated with PA habits (ps < .001) and withto before- and mid-lockdown PA behaviours (ps < .001) (but not with end-lockdown PA behaviours) and did not moderate the relations between PA behaviours and habits (ps > .072).CONCLUSION: PA habits were altered, and their influence on PA behaviours was impeded during the COVID-19 lockdown. Engagement in PA behaviours and autonomous motivation helped in counteracting PA habits disruption.

International audience; To examine the indirect relationships between physical activity, and well-being (i.e., need satisfaction, subjective vitality, and stress) of individuals, through recovery experiences (i.e., detachment from lockdown, relaxation, mastery, and control over leisure time) during the spring 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. Methods. 405 participants answered an online survey including questions on physical activity, recovery experiences, subjective vitality, perceived stress, and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Structural equation modeling tested a full-mediated model in which physical activity predicted recovery experience, which in turn predicted well-being. Results. Physical activity was positively related to a latent variable representing recovery experiences, which in turn was positively related to a latent variable representing well-being. Conclusions. Physical activity carried out regularly during the COVID-19 lockdown positively predicted well-being through recovery experiences. The study results highlight the importance of maintaining or increasing physical activity during periods when recovery experiences and well-being may be threatened.

Objective. To examine the indirect relationships between physical activity, and well-being (i.e., need satisfaction, subjective vitality, and stress) of individuals, through recovery experiences (i.e., detachment from lockdown, relaxation, mastery and control over leisure time) during the spring 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.Design. Cross-sectional.Methods. 405 participants answered an online survey including questions on physical activity, recovery experiences, subjective vitality, perceived stress and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Structural equation modelling tested a full-mediated model in which physical activity predicted recovery experience, which in turn predicted well-being.Results. Physical activity was positively related to a latent variable representing recovery experiences, which in turn was positively related to a latent variable representing well-being.Conclusions. Physical activity carried out regularly during the COVID-19 lockdown predicted positively well-being through recovery experiences. The study results highlight the importance of maintaining or increasing physical activity during periods when recovery experiences and well-being may be threatened.

Ego-depletion has been one of the most criticized psychological phenomena these past years. New approaches have been proposed to increase its replicability, but often failed, mostly due to inaccurate conceptions that misguided methodological decisions, such as inappropriate tasks choice. In this commentary, we question the reinvention of the ego-depletion paradigm claimed by Lin et al. (2020). Specifically, we discuss the absence of a comprehensive definition of self-control, which is central to the concept of ego-depletion, the lack of distinction between ego-depletion and mental fatigue, and the depleting task chosen to induce ego-depletion that we deem inappropriate. We propose some conceptual clarifications to promote the implementation of rigorous methods in ego-depletion research.

Multiple health behaviour change (MHBC) represents one of the best ways to prevent reoccurrence of cardiovascular events. However, few individuals with cardiovascular diseases engage in this process. The present study examined the role of compensatory health beliefs (CHB; i.e., belief that a healthy behaviour compensates an unhealthy one)as a drag to engagement in this process. Some studies have shown that CHBs predict intention to engage in healthy behaviours, but no study has investigated CHBs in individuals who actually need to change multiple health behaviours. The goal was to better understand the role of CHBs in intentions formation process among individuals with cardiac diseases in an MHBC context. One hundred and four patients completed a questionnaire at the beginning of their cardiac rehabilitation program. Results showed that: (1) CHBs negatively predicted intentions (2) but only for participants with high self-efficacy or low risk perception; (3) CHBs predictions differed depending on the nature of the compensating behaviour, and were more predictive when medication intake was the compensating one. Findings only partially confirmed previous research conducted on healthy individuals who were not in an MHBC process, and emphasized the importance of considering CHBs for individuals in this process., Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe, 558

International audience; This study investigated the role of self-control in health behaviors at both trait and state levels. We examined if trait and state self-control independently predict health behaviors, as well as the mechanisms of these relationships (desire, conflict, and resistance). This question was investigated on unhealthy and healthy behaviors, in the domain of physical activity, diet, and smoking. 325 participants completed a questionnaire assessing trait and state self-control, as well as desire, conflict, resistance, and health behaviors. Path analyses revealed that trait self-control indirectly predicted unhealthy behaviors through reduced desire, conflict, and resistance, and directly predicted healthy behaviors. These relationships remained significant when controlling for state self-control, suggesting that people’s general tendency to prioritize distal goals over proximal motives uniquely predicts behaviors. Results also showed that adding state self-control to the model doubled the explained variance in healthy behaviors, highlighting the importance of considering self-control capacity at both trait and state levels.

Recent evidence suggests humans have an automatic attraction to effort minimization. Yet, how this attraction is associated with response inhibition is still unclear. Here, we used go/no-go tasks to capture inhibitory control in response to stimuli depicting physical activity versus physical inactivity in 59 healthy young individuals. Higher commission errors (i.e., failure to refrain a response to a “no-go” stimulus) were used as a measure for inhibitory control. Based on the energetic cost minimization theory, we hypothesized that participants would exhibit higher commission errors when responding to stimuli depicting physical inactivity stimuli rather than physical activity stimuli. As expected, mixed effects models showed that, compared to physical activity stimuli, participants exhibited higher commission errors when responding to stimuli depicting physical inactivity (odds ratio = 1.59, 95% Confidence Interval [95%CI] = 1.18 to 2.16, p = .003). These results suggest that physical inactivity stimuli might require high response inhibition. This study lends support for the hypothesis that an attraction to effort minimization might affect inhibitory processes in the presence of stimuli related to this minimization. The study pre-registration form can be found at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/RKYHB

Objectives This article examines whether sports practice can influence the stereotype content associated with people with physical disability from the viewpoint of people without disability. Design Both implicit and explicit stereotypes were assessed for people with disability compared with people without disability (Study 1), people with disability who engage in sport compared with people without disability (Study 2), and people with disability who engage in sport compared with people with disability (Study 3). Method Participants (NStudy1 = 57, NStudy 2 = 61, NStudy 3 = 63) performed a warmth-Implicit Association Test and a competence-Implicit Association Test and were asked to rate how strongly they associated a series of warmth and competence traits with one or the other group of people. Results In Study 1, people with disability were implicitly associated with less positivity and explicitly associated with higher warmth but lower competence than people without disability. The same results were found in Study 2. In Study 3, people with disability who engage in sport were explicitly associated with higher warmth and competence than people with disability but this result failed to emerge at an implicit level. Conclusions The influence of practicing sport on the stereotype content associated with people with physical disability seems less consistent than has been assumed thus far. The results suggest the need for further study of the implicit stereotype content concerning people with disability and the types of information that might weaken the link between disability and negativity.