The Role of Body-Related Self-Conscious Emotions in Motivating Women’s Physical Activity

TLDR

The study tested whether body‑related self‑conscious emotions—shame, guilt, and pride—predict physical activity regulations and behavior. 389 adult women completed questionnaires on pride, shame, guilt, motivational regulations, and leisure‑time physical activity, and the authors fitted measurement and structural models, including a revised model separating shame‑free guilt and guilt‑free shame. Pride was positively associated with identified and intrinsic regulations; shame‑free guilt correlated with external, introjected, and identified regulations; guilt‑free shame correlated positively with external and introjected regulations and negatively with intrinsic regulation, and identified and intrinsic regulations together explained 62 % of the variance in physical activity.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test a model where body-related self-conscious emotions of shame, guilt, and pride were associated with physical activity regulations and behavior. Adult women ( N = 389; M age = 29.82, SD = 15.20 years) completed a questionnaire assessing body-related pride, shame, and guilt, motivational regulations, and leisure-time physical activity. The hypothesized measurement and structural models were deemed adequate, as was a revised model examining shame-free guilt and guilt-free shame. In the revised structural model, body-related pride was positively significantly related to identified and intrinsic regulations. Body-related shame-free guilt was significantly associated with external, introjected, and identified regulations. Body-related guilt-free shame was significantly positively related to external and introjected regulation, and negatively associated with intrinsic regulation. Identified and intrinsic regulations were significantly positively related to physical activity ( R 2 = .62). These findings highlight the importance of targeting and understanding the realm of body-related self-conscious emotions and the associated links to regulations and physical activity behavior.