Self-regulating Physical and Mental Activities: Intensive Longitudinal Intervention Studies of Physical Fitness and Happiness

Abstract

Being active is a primary necessity in life, but it is also an essential part of what makes life worth living. This thesis explored goal pursuit activities people might not experience as pleasant in the moment, but where the self-chosen activities are still considered good and worthwhile. We hypothesized that online self-regulation interventions would be effective in increasing effortful physical and mental activities and that a distinction between hedonic and eudaimonic conceptions of wellbeing would be evident in different stages of goal pursuit. Three papers, building on data from two studies, are presented. In Paper I, the effect of an online intervention for increasing physical activity, named Lifestyle Tool, was tested in a longitudinal study spanning three months. In Paper II, using global measures from a second study, we investigated the reciprocal effects of different wellbeing dimensions and goal pursuit stages before and after an intervention week. In Paper III, we used the experience sampling measures from the second study, and tested the assumption that HWB and EWB reflect two different dimensions of wellbeing and examined differences in emotions from goal pursuit interventions indicating discriminant validity. The results showed that online interventions helped participants self-regulate physical and mental activities. Furthermore, a duality between hedonic wellbeing (HWB) and eudaimonic wellbeing (EWB) were evident in the goal pursuit process: while EWB ignited and sustained wellbeing in effortful goal pursuits, HWB was more related to the outcome phase, rewarding goal achievement. Congruent findings from different analyses also supported convergent and discriminant validity of HWB and EWB as separate constructs. Interventions that help people self-regulate benefit actions viewed as good and conducive to physical and mental health, even though they are not always experienced as pleasant.