Sources of Resources: Bioenergetic and Psychoenergetic Resources Influence Distance Perception

Keeping the Goal in Sight: Testing the Influence of Narrowed Visual Attention on Physical Activity

“…The current research builds on prior work suggesting that narrowed scope of attention improves exercise (e.g., Balcetis & Dunning, 2010; Cole & Balcetis, 2013; Cole, Balcetis, & Dunning, 2013). Specifically, these studies demonstrated that narrowed attentional scope facilitated improved physical activity in daily life by promoting more intense activity (Studies 2 and 4) and repeated engagement in exercises such as walking or running over time (Studies 1a, 1b, and 3).…”

“…Evidence suggests that people for whom exercise is more taxing, including those who are overweight, older, or experiencing chronic fatigue, perceive their environments in more extreme ways (Sugovic & Witt, 2011, 2013; Witt et al, 2009; for counterevidence and a lively debate regarding these findings, see Firestone, 2013; Proffitt, 2013; Schnall, 2017 and responses to this target article). People who felt tired judged a finish line as farther away than did people who felt full of energy (Cole & Balcetis, 2013). Similarly, individuals with a higher ratio of waist size to hip circumference believed a finish line was farther away than individuals with relatively leaner physical profiles (Balcetis et al, 2015).…”

Task demand not so damning: Improved techniques that mitigate demand in studies that support top-down effects

“…Third, we conduct studies using between-subjects designs (e.g., Balcetis & Dunning 2010; Cole & Balcetis 2013). Participants cannot know that our hypotheses predict they will stand farther from chocolates if randomly assigned to the chocolate condition, and closer to feces if randomly assigned to that condition.…”

“…Fourth, we use double-blind hypothesis testing in which both participants and experimenters are unaware of the assigned condition (e.g., Cole & Balcetis 2013). For example, when participants drank juice sweetened with either sugar or Splenda before estimating the distance to a location, participants, experimenters, and the graduate student training experimenters and analyzing data were unaware of drink-type.…”

“…Finally, we dissociate participants' perceptual experiences from manipulations that could be influenced by demand (e.g., Cole & Balcetis 2013). In a test of object construal on distance perception, participants tossed a beanbag with the intent to hit a picture frame that held a $100 bill or was empty.…”