Comparing Different Typologies of Physical Activities With a Focus on Motivation

Profiling Physical Activity Motivation Based on Reasons for Exercise: A Cluster Analysis Approach

The purpose of this study is to identify profiles based on the reasons adults have for being physically active. A secondary purpose was to examine how profiles differ on motivational regulation and physical activity (PA). A total of 1275 (46.5 ± 16.8 years) participants were solicited from a hospital-affiliated wellness center, social media promotions, and a research volunteer registry. The Reasons to Exercise (REX-2) scale, International PA Questionnaire, Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-3, and demographic questionnaire were utilized to assess variables of interest with a cross-sectional survey. Using SPSS Version 26, K-cluster analysis was used to identify profiles based on the reasons for exercise that individuals identified as important. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to assess profile differences followed by ANOVA. Four profiles were derived based on reason for exercise scores: a multi-reason positive (N = 361), a multi-reason negative (N = 232), an autonomous-focused (N = 259), and a control-focused cluster (N = 382) (p < .001). These unique clusters differed significantly (p < .001) from each other with respect to motivation to be active and PA. The multi-reason positive cluster engaged in higher levels of total moderate and vigorous PA minutes/week compared to the other clusters. Therefore, adult's motivation for PA may be likely to be affected by a combination of different informal goals and valuing a number of goals that are both extrinsic/controlling (e.g., to look good) and autonomous/intrinsic (e.g., to feel good), may promote greater autonomous motivation regulation and greater PA levels than highly autonomous/intrinsic goals alone.

Evolution of Artistic and Athletic Propensities: Testing of Intersexual Selection and Intrasexual Competition

Since Darwin proposed that human musicality evolved through sexual selection, empirical evidence has supported intersexual selection as one of the adaptive functions of artistic propensities. However, intrasexual competition has been overlooked. We tested their relative importance by investigating the relationship between the self-perceived talent/expertise in 16 artistic and 2 sports modalities and proxies of intersexual selection (i.e., mate value, mating and parenting efforts, sociosexuality, and number of sexual partners) and intrasexual competition (i.e., aggressiveness, intrasexual competitiveness) in heterosexuals. Participants were 82 Brazilian men, 166 Brazilian women, 146 Czech men, and 458 Czech women (Mage = 26.48, SD = 7.12). Factor analysis revealed five factors: Literary-arts (creative writing, humor, acting/theater/film, poetry, storytelling), Visual-arts (painting/drawing, sculpting, handcrafting, culinary arts, architecture design), Musical-arts (playing/instruments, singing, dance, whistling), Circus-arts (juggling, acrobatics), and Sports (individual, collective). Multivariate General Linear Model (GLM) showed more associations of the arts to intersexual selection in women and to intrasexual selection in men, and overall more relationships in women than in men. In women, literary and musical-arts were related to elevated inter- and intrasexual selections proxies, visual and circus-arts were related to elevated intersexual selection proxies, and sports were related to intrasexual selection proxies. In men, literary-arts and sports were related to elevated inter- and intrasexual selection proxies, musical-arts were related to intrasexual proxies, and circus-arts were related to intersexual proxies; visual-arts did not have predictors. Although present in both sexes, each sexual selection component has different relative importance in each sex. Artisticality functions to attract and maintain long/short-term partners, and to compete with mating rivals.