THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 1 Using a Think-Aloud Protocol to ...

138 Pages·2016·2.65 MB·English

by  Martina Marien

Running head: THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 1

Using a Think-Aloud Protocol to Explore Affective Experiences during Exercise in an
Insufficiently Physically Active Population

By

Martina Marien
Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education
McGill University, Montreal
December, 2016

A thesis submitted to McGill University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of
Master of Arts
in
The Faculty of Education
(Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education)

December 2016
© Martina Marien, 2016
THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 2
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank Drs. Lindsay Duncan and Shane Sweet for welcoming
me into the Theories and Interventions in Exercise and Health Psychology Lab (TIE Lab) as a
volunteer just two short years ago, and for allowing me to learn about and develop an interest in
research. I am so lucky to have been given the opportunity to work with you both, and I could
not have asked for more supportive mentors to learn from.
I want to thank my supervisor Dr. Lindsay Duncan for believing in me, and always
encouraging me to work hard and push myself to be better. As a supervisor, you went above and
beyond, and were always available and willing to help me in any way you could. Over the last
year, you have provided me with guidance and support, and have also been instrumental in
helping me overcome my fear of public speaking, and helping me become a better speaker. I
can’t thank you enough for your words of advice, encouragement, and praise, especially when
they were unexpected, but most definitely appreciated. I have been so lucky to have gotten to
learn from, and work with, such a kind, caring, funny and overall amazing person. I can’t thank
you enough for everything you have done for me, and I hope that your future graduate students
appreciate and understand how lucky they are to have you as a supervisor, as well as a person in
their lives.
I want to thank Dr. Dennis Jensen, and Dr. Shane Sweet for all of your help in the
development of this study, and for your guidance, and advice over the course of this year. Your
help was very much appreciated!
I want to thank the amazing members of the TIE Lab who have helped me over the last
two years, and who I could not be happier to call my friends. You never fail to bring humour to
my day, are always supportive and truly are a group of people that I am so lucky to have come to
THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 3
know and hope to stay friends with for years to come. Special thanks goes out to Chelsey, Laura,
Emilie, Jamie, and Keryn who were always willing to help me with pilot testing and data
collection whenever research assistants were not available. I truly could not have complete this
Master’s without you!
Lastly, but most definitely not least, I want to thank my parents for being my biggest
supporters. Mom and Dad, you have always been an inspiration to me and your advice, support,
and encouragement have been one of the reasons that I have had success over the years. This past
year has been no different. You are always there for me, always encourage me to be my best, and
never fail to believe that I can do anything I set my mind to. Thank you so much for all your
help, I can’t thank you enough for everything that you do for me.
THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 4
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... 2
List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. 6
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. 7
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 8
Résumé ..................................................................................................................................... 10
Preface and Contribution of Authors ......................................................................................... 12
Chapter One: Introduction and Literature Review ..................................................................... 13
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 14
Literature Review .................................................................................................................. 16
Role of Affect in Exercise ................................................................................................. 16
Strengths and Limitations of Previous Methodology .......................................................... 23
Protocol Analysis .............................................................................................................. 27
Purpose of the Proposed Research ..................................................................................... 28
Chapter Two: Methods and Results .......................................................................................... 30
Method .................................................................................................................................. 31
Participants ........................................................................................................................ 31
Procedure .......................................................................................................................... 32
Measures ........................................................................................................................... 39
THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 5
Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 44
Results .................................................................................................................................. 46
Recruitment ....................................................................................................................... 46
Participant Characteristics ................................................................................................. 47
Qualitative assessment ....................................................................................................... 51
Quantitative assessments ................................................................................................... 88
Chapter 3: Discussion ............................................................................................................... 96
Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 97
Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 100
References .............................................................................................................................. 104
Appendix A ............................................................................................................................ 112
Appendix B ............................................................................................................................. 118
Appendix C ............................................................................................................................. 127
Appendix D ............................................................................................................................ 128
Appendix E ............................................................................................................................. 131
THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 6
List of Tables
Table 1: List of measures and time of assessment ...................................................................... 39
Table 2: Demographic Information............................................................................................ 49
Table 3: Average number of minutes (mins) of self-reported mild, moderate, strenuous, and
moderate to vigorous physical activity per week........................................................................ 50
Table 4: A comparison between male and female participants’ peak aerobic capacities from
session 1 ................................................................................................................................... 51
Table 5 Explanation and definition of the six primary themes .................................................... 52
Table 6: Mean and standard deviations for all questionnaires administered................................ 90
Table 7: Independent and paired t-tests to examine differences in means within- and between-
gender at various time points ..................................................................................................... 92
THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 7
List of Figures
Figure 1: Flow chart of participant recruitment, ineligibility, enrollment and drop out. .............. 47
Figure 2: Comparison of mean negative affect scores in male (left) and female (right)
participants before and after session 1 and 2 .............................................................................. 94
Figure 3: Comparison of mean positive affect scores in male (left) and female (right) participants
before and after session 1 and 2 ................................................................................................. 94
Figure 4: Comparison of mean affect scores for men and women from the end of the warm up,
and at the middle and end of each exercise stage (i.e., 80% VT, 100% VT, 120% VT, and
cooldown). ................................................................................................................................ 95
THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 8
Abstract
Background: Researchers have suggested that the way someone feels during exercise is
dependent on the exercise intensity, and that it can influence exercise adherence. People tend to
experience positive affect when they are exercising below their ventilatory threshold and
negative affect when they are exercising above their ventilatory threshold. Given that exercise
that occurs above one’s ventilatory threshold is associated with greater health benefits, research
is needed to determine how to improve the experience of people when they are exercising at this
relatively high level of intensity. Despite the benefit that could come from understanding the
experiences of exercisers across different exercise intensities, it is still poorly understood what,
exactly, people are experiencing that contributes to their positive or negative affect and how that
affect influences their exercise experience.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the affective experiences of insufficiently
active men and women when they exercise at intensities below, at, and above their ventilatory
threshold during a cardiovascular exercise session on a treadmill.
Methods: Twelve men and 12 women participated in this study which consisted of two sessions
separated by one week. Session 1 consisted of a maximal incremental treadmill test and was used
to determine the work rate (watts) associated with each participants’ ventilatory threshold.
Session two consisted of an exercise session, where participants exercised on a treadmill at a 6%
grade at three different intensities (80%, 100%, and 120% of their ventilatory threshold). A
think-aloud protocol in which participants verbalized every thought that they had during the
exercise task was used to collect data about participants’ exercise experiences. The data were
transcribed verbatim and analyzed inductively to identify common themes within, and between,
THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 9
intensities. Quantitative measures were also collected during both exercise sessions to assess felt
arousal, affective state, and perceived exertion.
Results. Six prominent themes emerged that were consistent across the three exercise intensities:
(a) thoughts related to the exercise task, (b) thoughts unrelated to the exercise task, (c)
physiological experiences, (d) perception of exercise intensity, (e) self-efficacy, and (f) feeling
states. Although the participants experienced a larger number of, and more intense physiological
symptoms above the ventilatory threshold, most participants did not experience negative affect
during the exercise protocol. The results also showed that the participants, on average,
experienced positive affect during each intensity and that affect was less positive when the
participants were exercising above, compared to at or below, the ventilatory threshold. Lastly,
women reported more positive affect on average, at each intensity, than men, despite reporting
significantly fewer minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, and having lower
physical fitness.
Discussion. In contrast to findings from previous research, exercising above the ventilatory
threshold was not necessarily associated with negative affect. The use of a think-aloud protocol
provided a richness to the data that could not be achieved with the use of quantitative measures,
and allowed for a better understanding of how people feel during exercise, and how they
perceive their exercise experience. This research stands to make a contribution to the promotion
of exercise by using think-aloud data to tailor, develop, and implement new forms of exercise
prescription that could help promote exercise enjoyment and adherence among adults who are
not sufficiently active.
THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL AND AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCES 10
Résumé
Contexte: Selon certains chercheurs, les sentiment ressentis au moment de l’activité physique
pourraient dépendre du niveau d’intensité de l’exercice physique, et pourraient influencer
l’adhérence à l’exercice. Il a déjà été démontré que les gens auraient tendance à ressentir un
affect positif et négatif, lorsque l’exercice physique se trouve respectivement en-dessous, et au-
dessus du seuil ventilatoire. Cependant, ce phénomène n’a pas bien été approfondi au niveau des
sentiments précis que les gens ressentent et qui affecteraient leur expérience avec l’activité
physique.
But: Le but de cette étude était d’explorer les expériences affectives ci-dessous, au seuil
ventilatoire et au-dessus du seuil ventilatoire lors d’une session d’exercice cardiovasculaire sur
un tapis roulant chez les hommes et femmes insuffisamment actifs.
Méthode: Cette étude a été conçue en deux sessions espacées d’une semaine. Douze (12)
hommes et douze (12) femmes ont participé à cette étude. La première session, Session 1,
consistait d’un test progressif maximal sur tapis roulant afin de déterminer l’intensité du travail
associée au seuil ventilatoire des participants. La deuxième session, Session 2, consistait d’une
session où les participants devaient faire de l’exercice sur un tapis roulant à une teneur de 6% à
trois intensités différentes (80%, 100%, et 120% du seuil ventilatoire) et étaient divisés au hasard
dans un des six protocoles. La méthode de la pensée de la voix haute a été utilisée afin de
collecter les données sur l’expérience émotionnelle par rapport à l’exercice. Les données ont été
transcrites mot pour mot et analysées de manière inductive afin d’identifier les thèmes communs
et récurrents entre les intensités. Des mesures quantitatives ont aussi été collectées durant les
deux sessions d’exercice afin d’évaluer l’excitation ressentie, l’état affectif et l’effort perçu.