Automatic activation of exercise and sedentary stereotypes.
We examined the automatic activation of "sedentary" and "exerciser" stereotypes using a social prime Stroop task. Results showed significantly slower response times between the exercise words and the exercise control words and between the sedentary words and the exercise control words when preceded by an attractive exerciser prime. Words preceded by a normal-weight exerciser prime showed significantly slower response times for sedentary words over sedentary control words and exercise words. An overweight sedentary prime resulted in significantly slower response times for sedentary words over exercise words and exercise control words. These results highlight the need for increased awareness of how active and sedentary lifestyles are portrayed in the media.
Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. tanya.berry@ualberta.ca
Tanya
T
Berry
John C
JC
Spence
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001364:Awareness; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000523:psychology*; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011287:Prejudice; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012660:Semantics; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis