The Construction and Testing of Reflective-impulsive Model of Physical Activity

Exercise psychological models are based on the rational decision.They suppose that people will do regular exercise if they realize the benefits of it.The behavior is not only decided by the reflective system which is based on the rational decision,but also influenced by the impulsive system which is based on the irrational decision.Two studies were conducted to(1)construct and test the model,and(2)examine the moderator variables.In study 1,RIMPA was proposed.The RIM_PA combines(1)reflective precursors,which integrate elements from other physical activity model,such as attitude behavior,subjective norm etc.,(2)impulsive precursor,which is reflected by the affect association,and(3)the moderator variables,which shift the weight between reflective and impulsive influences.In study 2,the physical activity,the reflective precursors,the willpower and the impulsive precursor of 1519 college students were assessed.The multi-group structural equation modeling was used to test the model and moderator variables.It comes to the conclusions that(1)RIMPA can be used to interpret and predict physical activity.(2)The habitualness is a moderator variable which shifts the weight between reflective and impulsive influences.The Habitualness is stronger,and the impulsive influences are more.(3)The willpower is another moderator variable.For the higher willpower participants,the reflective precursors have a stronger influence on physical activity than impulsive precursor,while the result for the lower willpower participants is converse.