SELF-EFFICACY INFLUENCES FEELING STATES ASSOCIATED WITH ACUTE EXERCISE

The present study examined the role that preexisting efficacy cognitio ns played in the generation of exercise-induced feeling states during and following an acute bout of exercise. In so doing, the construct va lidity of a newly developed measure of psychological responses to exer cise, the Exercise-Induced Feeling Inventory (EFI; Gauvin & Rejeski, 1 993), was investigated. Female undergraudates, classified as having ei ther high or low physical efficacy, engaged in an acute exercise bout and feeling states were recorded prior to, during, and following the a ctivity. More efficacious females maintained a sense of energy during exercise bout and feeling states were recorded prior to, during, and f ollowing the activity. More efficacious females maintained a sense of energy during exercise and felt more revitalized and experienced incre ased positive engagement postexercise than did their less efficacious counterparts. Such findings provide further support for a social-cogni tive interpretation of how psychological responses to physical activit y might be generated. Results are further discussed in terms of the me asurement of exercise-induced feeling states and future applications o f the EFI.