Sport And Exercise Psychology: A Critical Introduction

Box 8.4 The transtheoretical model of behaviour change as applied

to physical activity

Stage What happens?

Precontemplation Person is not active physically and has no intention of exercising over the next

six months

Contemplation Person is still inactive but intends to start exercising regularly within next six

months

Preparation Person is active physically but below the criterion level of regularity required

for health benefits (i.e., at least three times per week for 20–30 minutes or

longer per session)

Action Person is engaged in regular physical activity but has been doing so at the

criterion level for less than six months

Maintenance Person is engaged in regular physical activity and has been exercising regularly

for more than six months

As you can see from Box 8.4, each of these hypothetical stages of change is defined by a
unique combination of intentionality and behaviour and can be measured using self-
report instruments (see Marcus and Simkin, 1993). Note that the stages are assumed to be
cyclical rather than linear because many people do not maintain their intended changes
but regress to an earlier stage. These relapses to previous stages of change are common
among people who wish to become more physically active and are often caused by
injury, illness and by the vicissitudes of travel and personal or business issues.
Interestingly, many successful “self-changers” proceed in a spiral fashion several times
through the preliminary stages before they achieve the maintenance stage (see Figure
8.2).
Although the above stages describe how people’s exercise behaviour changes over
time, the process by which these changes occur requires a separate explanation. Thus the
TTM postulates ten different strategies to account for a person’s transformation from a
state of inactivity to one of regular physical activity. These strategies are defined as
actions that are “initiated or experienced by an individual in modifying affect, behaviour,
cognition, or relationships” (Prochaska and DiClemente, 1984, p. 7). Among these
strategies are experiential processes like “consciousness raising” (whereby the person
tries to learn more about the benefits of regular physical activity) and “dramatic relief”
(whereby the person may be moved emotionally by warnings about the dangers of not
taking regular exercise). Also, behavioural strategies such as “stimulus control” may be
used. Here, the exerciser may try to avoid any situations that promote physical inactivity.
Another popular behavioural change mechanism is the use of “helping relationships” in
which exercisers seek social support to encourage them to continue with their planned
physical activity.

Does a healthy body always lead to a healthy mind? Exploring exercise psychology 235