Leisure Repertoire in a Sample of Midwestern Elderly: The Case For Exercise

Abstract

The popular theoretical framework for explaining motivation to exercise is based on the health benefits that result. Instead, we argue that exercise behavior is intrinsically motivated and part of the subject's leisure repertoire. Activities capable of producing perceptions of internal or external competence comprise each subject's leisure repertoire. To test the validity of the concept of leisure repertoire positive correlations were predicted between measures of internal and external competence and a variety of behavioral indicators of exercise. Elderly subjects answered questionnaires designed to measure exercise activities, perceived competence, and intrinsic leisure motivation. Correlations between exercise behaviors and internal and external competence supported the validity of the leisure repertoire construct. However, correlations with intrinsic leisure motivation scores did not materialize.