1. You are beginning a new exercise programme. You are likely to:
a) Attend a structured exercise class where an exercise leader is telling you what to do. (C)
b) Decide for yourself which type of exercise you would like to complete. (A)
c) Tag along with your friends and do what they do. (I)
2. You are asked to keep a record of all the weekly exercise you have completed in an exercise diary. You are likely to view the diary:
a) As a reminder of how incapable you are at fulfilling the task. (I)
b) As a way to measure your progress and to feel proud of your achievements. (A)
c) As a way of pressurising yourself to exercise. (C)
3. In order to monitor how well you are doing in an exercise programme you are likely to want to:
a) Be given a lot of praise and encouragement from others. (C)
b) Evaluate your own performance and provide yourself with positive feedback. (A)
c) Just hope that what you are doing is correct. (I)
4. You have been exercising regularly for 6 months but recently you have been missing sessions and are finding it hard to get motivated to exercise. You are likely to:
a) Approach someone to help motivate you. (C)
b) Ignore the problem; nothing can be done to improve your motivation. (I)
c) Employ your own strategies to motivate yourself. (A)
5. You have been told that setting goals is a good way to motivate yourself to exercise. You would likely:
a) Set your own realistic but challenging goals. (A)
b) Make someone important to you set goals for you to aim for. (C)
c) Not set goals because you may not be able to live up to them. (I)
6. During a discussion with an exercise counsellor he/she presents many options on the best way for you to exercise to achieve fitness and health benefits. It is likely that your first thought would be:
a) What do you (the exercise leader) think I should do? (C)
b) What do I think is the best option for me? (A)
c) What has everyone else done in the past? (I)
7. During an exercise session how hard you are working out is likely to be governed by:
a) The intensity you have been told to exercise at. (C)
b) What everyone around you is doing. (I)
c) How you are feeling whilst exercising at the intensity you choose. (A)
A=”Autonomy”‚ C=”Control” ‚ and I=”Impersonal”
1 = “Very unlikely” to 7 = “Very likely”
This instrument can be found at: http://pages.bangor.ac.uk/~pes004/exercise_motivation/ecos/ecos.htm
Rose‚ E.A.‚ Markland‚ D.‚ & Parfitt‚ G. (2001). The development and initial validation of the Exercise Causality Orientations Scale. Journal of Sports Sciences‚ 19‚ 445-462. abstract full text (pdf) For personal use only
Rose‚ E.A.‚ Parfitt‚ G. & Williams‚ S. (2005). Exercise causality orientations‚ behavioural regulation for exercise and stage of change for exercise: exploring their relationships. Psychology of Sport and Exercise‚ 6‚ 399-414. abstract full text (pdf) For personal use only