Chapter 5

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Discussion Questions

Activities

  1. Make three copies of the social support scale shown in Exhibit 5.1. Complete the first copy of the scale by following the instructions printed at the top of the exhibit. Next, reflect on your own childhood and complete the second copy of the social support scale as if you were a 10- to 12-year-old. Finally, think about an elderly friend or relative and complete the third copy of the scale as you think an older adult might. For each copy of the questionnaire, tally the average score for each type of support across the three sources. Do you see any differences in the types of support that are given to people of different ages? Do these differences reflect changes in our needs for certain types of support over time? Are some sources more likely to give support to a younger than to an older person? What might account for changes in the amount of support we get from different sources over time?
  2. Imagine that you are in charge of 50 students living in a college residence. You have been asked to develop a “Get Fit, Stay Active” program for these students. Given what you now know about social influences and physical activity, devise a plan to use social influence to get your students physically active.
  3. Test the social influence effects of co-exercisers. In a quiet part of a gym, ask 10 classmates to perform as many sit-ups as they can in a 60-second period. Be sure that each person performs the task without anyone else observing. After all 10 people have completed the task, calculate the average number of sit-ups performed, but do not tell this number to your classmates. Now, ask 10 additional classmates to do the 60-second sit-up task all together, in a group. Calculate the average number of sit-ups that members of this group performed. Is there a difference in the two results?
  4. Choose a group of health care providers (e.g., physiotherapists, physician assistants, physical therapists, midwives, pharmacists) and develop a plan to help them become more frequent promoters of physical activity. Check out the Exercise Is Medicine program, managed by the American College of Sports Medicine, at www.exerciseismedicine.org for some ideas and examples of resources that could be used to facilitate physical activity counseling.

Vocabulary

Behavioral reactance - The phenomenon whereby people respond in a direction opposite to the direction being advocated.

Companionship support - A reflection of the availability of people with whom one can exercise, such as friends, family members, or a group.

Confidence interval - The estimated range of values within which the true value of an effect size is expected to lie.

Effect size - An estimate of the magnitude of an effect.

Emotional support - The expression of encouragement, caring, empathy, and concern toward a person.

Group cohesion - The tendency of a group to stick together and remain united in pursuit of its objectives.

Informational support - Giving directions, advice, or suggestions about how to exercise and providing feedback regarding the exerciser’s progress.

Instrumental support - Providing tangible, practical assistance that will help a person achieve exercise goals.

Meta-analysis - A quantitative review and synthesis of research studies.

Moderating factor - A variable that could influence the strength of an intervention or the relationship between two other variables.

Social control - Measures and actions taken by a group to enforce compliance with traditions, perceptions, or rules.

Social facilitation - The phenomenon in which people increase their effort and performance when others are watching them.

Social influence - Real or imagined pressure to change one’s behavior, attitudes, or beliefs.

Social support - The degree of perceived comfort, caring, assistance, and information that a person receives from others.

Transformational leadership - A leadership style that seeks to cultivate positive changes in the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of those who are being led, empowering, inspiring, and challenging them to achieve higher levels of functioning.

Validation - Comparing oneself to others in order to gauge progress and to confirm that one’s thoughts, feelings, problems, and experiences are “normal.”