Putting the ‘we’ into workout: The association of identity leadership with exercise class attendance and effort, and the mediating role of group identification and comfort

Abstract

This research examined how identity leadership displayed by group exercise instructors is associated with exercisers' class attendance and in-class effort. Group exercise participants assessed their instructors' engagement in identity leadership at baseline before indicating their comfort in the exercise environment, identification with the exercise group, class attendance, and in-class effort four weeks later. Results indicated positive associations between instructors' identity leadership and exercisers' group identification and comfort in the exercise environment four weeks later. Furthermore, results provided evidence of indirect effects. First, identity leadership was associated with members' more frequent class attendance through their stronger group identification. Second, identity leadership was associated with members' greater in-class effort through (a) their stronger group identification, and (b) their greater comfort. These relationships remained significant when accounting for the effect of established motivational predictors (i.e., competence and autonomy). These results point to the role that instructors' leadership plays in promoting physical activity by suggesting that instructors' engagement in identity leadership is associated with exercisers' group-related experiences which, in turn, are a basis for group exercise participation.

A social identity perspective on COVID‐19: Health risk is affected by shared group membership

“…In an early demonstration of the impact of social relationships on disgust, Case et al (2006) found evidence across two studies that people are less disgusted by the smell of, and by changing, their own children's nappies compared to those of other children. Relatedly, experimental and questionnaire-based research indicates that people feel more comfortable being close to, and in a shared environment with, ingroup (rather than outgroup) members (Novelli, Drury, & Reicher, 2010;Steffens, Slade, Stevens, Haslam, & Rees, 2019). These findings align with the evolutionary perspective that we are 'hard-wired' to avoid, or at least be more cautious of, outgroup members because they are more likely to carry pathogens that we (ingroup members) are not immune to (e.g., see Faulkner, Schaller, Park, & Duncan, 2004).…”

Social group memberships, physical activity, and physical health following retirement: A six‐year follow‐up from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

“…For instance, retirees may experience the loss or weakening of their professional identity (e.g., as a teacher), or their identity as a member of a work-based friendship group. The Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC; Haslam, Steffens, et al, 2019) recognizes the threat that life transitions pose to people's group memberships and associated social identities and argues that much of the negative impact of life transitions on health can be attributed to these identity-based changes. On this basis, SIMIC proposes that the extent to which people are able to maintain existing social identities and gain new ones (i.e., resulting in a greater overall number) in periods of major life change is critically protective for their health and well-being.…”

“…Speaking specifically to the retirement transition, evidence suggests that both possessing and gaining a greater number of post-retirement group memberships predicts positive psychological health outcomes, including greater life satisfaction, happiness, and retirement adjustment (Haslam, Lam, et al, 2018;Lam et al, 2018;. Although it has been proposed that the SIMIC framework extends to indicators of health more broadly and not only well-being (see Haslam, Steffens, et al, 2019), the capacity for group memberships to help promote or sustain physical health remains largely unexplored. The one exception was a study by , which showed that having a greater number of post-retirement group memberships reduced mortality risk.…”

“…In the case of group memberships, research has demonstrated that belonging to more groups, both prior to and following retirement, increases the likelihood that retirees will successfully navigate this transition (see Haslam, Steffens, et al, 2019 for an overview). To date, however, this research has primarily focused on the capacity for group memberships to protect and promote psychological health (e.g., life satisfaction and quality of life) following retirement (Haslam, Lam, et al, 2018;Lam et al, 2018;.…”

Multi-Stakeholder Retrospective Acceptability of a Peer Support Intervention for Exercise Referral

“…The ability of ERS peers to contribute to enhanced perceptions of comfort represents a meaningful, positive consequence of their implementation. Comfort is positively associated with social identification and a sense of group belonging [ 39 ], presenting preliminary evidence of ERS peers’ ability to facilitate shared social identity. Moreover, feelings of comfort positively predict participant adherence among peer support interventions [ 38 ].…”