Aesthetic Pleasure from Visual Quotes and its Influence on Individuals' Motivation to Exercise
Year: 2021
Type: dissertation
Abstract: It is well-known that physical activity has many benefits for health and well-being. However, one in four adults worldwide does not engage in enough physical activity. On the other hand, nowadays, many people look for physical exercise motivation online on image-sharing social media platforms, where it is relatively common to find encouraging text messages embedded in visual presentations (as visual quotes). Considering that perceived beauty can influence our perception of an artifact, this research project explored whether and how aesthetic pleasure affects people's perception of motivational text messages and the textual content's motivating capability on people's exercise motivation. The influence of several aesthetic pleasure levels (ugly, neutral, and beautiful) was explored in textual content with different characteristics (e.g., positive-framed, self-liberating messages, low-perceived competence, high-perceived competence). Several experiments revealed that high levels of aesthetic pleasure does not necessarily lead individuals to perceive a textual message as more positive. Similarly, low levels of aesthetic pleasure did not affect textual content perception. Indeed, ultimately, the influence of aesthetic pleasure seemed dependent on the textual content's own characteristics. Some experiments focused on the immediate effect of aesthetic pleasure, while others focused on aesthetic pleasure in the mid-term (over four weeks). In none of the scenarios did aesthetic pleasure influence intrinsic motivation, which has been found to be linked to individuals’ enjoyment of and likelihood of engagement with exercise over the long-term, or influence the extrinsic motivation (the identified behavior regulation), related to the initial adoption of physical exercise. Nonetheless, it was found that visual presentations perceived as aesthetically appealing help to instill a positive feeling regarding the textual content. Possibilities for future research are suggested on the basis of Cognitive Evaluation Theory, a sub-theory of Self-Determination Theory).
Author: Costa, Lígia Daniela Duro
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G2192244390, G3309663665
OpenAlex ID: W7063799084