ArticleFrontiers in sports and active living2023
Qualitative and quantitative evidence of motivation states for physical activity, exercise and being sedentary from university student focus groups.
Article in Frontiers in sports and active living, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Associations of Body Mass Index and Lifestyle Factors with Suicidal Ideation, Planning, and Attempts Among Korean Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Exploring Strategies to Promote Exercise as a Viable Obesity and Chronic Disease Treatment.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Relationship Between Sedentary Lifestyle, Physical Activity and Stress in University Students and Their Life Habits: A Scoping Review with PRISMA Checklist (PRISMA-ScR).Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Dynamic representations of theory testing in physical activity using ecological momentary assessment: an example guide utilizing multi-process action control.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- The Motivation MAP: an exercise-message framework to foster positive affect, challenge all-or-nothing thinking, and prioritize self-care.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Validation of the CRAVE-C scale in Chinese adults: a four-study examination of competing motivations for physical activity versus rest.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- The CRAVE and ARGE scales for motivation states for physical activity and sedentarism: Brazilian Portuguese translation and single-item versions.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Altered motivation states for physical activity and 'appetite' for movement as compensatory mechanisms limiting the efficacy of exercise training for weight loss.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Motivation states to move, be physically active and sedentary vary like circadian rhythms and are associated with affect and arousal.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Article
- Humans have a basic physical and psychological need to move the body: Physical activity as a primary drive.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Motivation for physical activity and sedentary behaviors (e.g., desires, urges, wants, cravings) varies from moment to moment. According to the WANT model, these motivation states may be affectively-charged (e.g., felt as tension), particularly after periods of maximal exercise or extended rest. The purpose of this study was to examine postulates of the WANT model utilizing a mixed-methods approach. We hypothesized that: (1) qualitative evidence would emerge from interviews to support this model, and (2) motivation states would quantitatively change over the course of an interview period. Seventeen undergraduate students (mean age = 18.6y, 13 women) engaged in focus groups where 12 structured questions were presented. Participants completed the "right now" version of the CRAVE scale before and after interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed with content analysis. A total of 410 unique lower-order themes were classified and grouped into 43 higher order themes (HOTs). From HOTs, six super higher order themes (SHOTs) were designated: (1) wants and aversions, (2) change and stability, (3) autonomy and automaticity, (4) objectives and impulses, (5) restraining and propelling forces, and (6) stress and boredom. Participants stated that they experienced desires to move and rest, including during the interview, but these states changed rapidly and varied both randomly as well as systematically across periods of minutes to months. Some also described a total absence of desire or even aversion to move and rest. Of note, strong urges and cravings for movement, typically from conditions of deprivation (e.g., sudden withdrawal from exercise training) were associated with physical and mental manifestations, such as fidgeting and feeling restless. Urges were often consummated with behavior (e.g., exercise sessions, naps), which commonly resulted in satiation and subsequent drop in desire. Importantly, stress was frequently described as both an inhibitor and instigator of motivation states. CRAVE-Move increased pre-to-post interviews (
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