Positive Implicit Associations for Physical Activity Predict Physical Activity and Affective Responses During Exercise.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of implicit associations and explicit evaluations with affective responses during an aerobic exercise session, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in adults. Fifty adults (70% women; median age = 31 years; 25th, 75th percentiles: 24.50, 40.50 years old; body mass index = 25.29 ± 4.97 kg/m2) not engaged in regular physical activity completed an implicit association test and a questionnaire of explicit evaluations and wore an accelerometer for 7 days. After the 7-day period, the participants performed 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Every 5 min, the affective response and the perception of effort were recorded. Participants who had more positive implicit associations toward physical activity (vs. sedentary behavior) reported higher affective responses during exercise and engaged in more moderate to vigorous physical activity. Encouraging pleasant physical activity may act to partially improve future physical activity through automatic motivational processes.

Implicit attitudes towards risky driving behaviors: Evidence of validity for the implicit association test.

INTRODUCTION: Attitudes toward risky driving behaviors are commonly evaluated through direct self-report measures. Nevertheless, these instruments have limitations, such as socially-desirable responding. This study examines the validity of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) as an indirect measure of attitudes towards risky driving. An IAT with "risky" vs. "safe" driving behaviors categories was evaluated. METHOD: A sample of 100 participants (ranging from 18 to 70 years of age) completed the IAT and measures of attitudes, driving styles, personality traits, risk-taking (IOWA Gambling Task), and social desirability (Driver Social Desirability Scale). RESULTS: A high level of internal consistency was found for IAT scores. The IAT was correlated with driving styles (risky, dissociative, and careful dimensions), risk-related personality traits (impulsive/sensation seeking and aggression/hostility) and risk-taking measures. IAT scores were also associated with self-reported risky driving behaviors (r = 0.33). As expected, a higher level of negative implicit attitudes was found among young drivers. The driver social desirability scale was correlated with most self-report measures, but not with the IAT. CONCLUSION: The present study provides reliability and validity evidence for the IAT as an indirect measure of attitudes towards risky driving. The IAT can serve as an important complement to conventional self-report measures of driving attitudes. Practical Applications: Potential use of global measure of implicit attitudes toward risky driving behaviors in the evaluation, education, and training of drivers are discussed.