Make Yourself Proud: An Investigation of Experienced and Anticipated Pride in Physical Activity Context

This program of research consists of four inter-related studies that examined how the experience and anticipation of pride is associated with physical activity behaviours. Further, the antecedents of anticipated pride were also examined. Study 1 employed an intensive longitudinal design and purposeful sampling of individuals training for a long-distance race ( n = 131), to explore how experiences of authentic and hubristic pride are associated with subsequent training progress. Using data collected from this same dataset (n = 158), Study 2 examined how both the experience and the anticipation of pride and shame predicted the quality and quantity of training behaviours as individuals trained for an upcoming race. Guided by the Affect and Health Behavior Framework, Study 3 utilized a prospective design to test whether intentions to be physically active mediated the relationship between anticipated pride and engagement in physical activity among young adults (n = 158). Finally, study 4 (n = 130) employed a cross-sectional design to examine the theoretical antecedents of anticipated pride using the Process Model of Self-Conscious Emotions (Tracy & Robins, 2004) as the guiding framework. Based on tenets of this model, the congruence between self-representations were of particular interest. Collectively, this body of work underscores the functional nature of pride in physical activity contexts for promoting achievement outcomes. Pride is a competence relevant emotion that motivates achievement striving. When engaged in competence pursuits, low feelings of pride provide feedback that changes in goal striving are needed. Subsequently, this results in greater goal progress. Thus, individuals strive to experience pride and the anticipation of pride is likely to guide behaviour. The anticipation of fitness-related pride was associated with intentions to engage physical activity behaviours. Finally, self-representations associated with an individual's ideal self is a prominent antecedent of authentic pride. These findings are important given the relative scarcity of research on self-conscious emotions, and positive emotions more generally, despite their stated importance for optimal functioning in achievement contexts. Given the predominance of research that has examined the effects of negative emotions in sport and exercise contexts, the current program of research highlights the importance of targeting positive emotional experiences such as pride as they appear to have important regulatory functions in these contexts that can facilitate both performance and participation in health behaviours.