title: Using implicit attitudes of exercise importance to predict explicit exercise dependence symptoms and exercise behaviors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  "Fast" (i.e., implicit) processing is relatively automatic; "slow" (i.e., explicit) processing is relatively controlled and can override automatic processing. These different processing types often produce different responses that uniquely predict behaviors. In the present study, we tested if explicit, self-reported symptoms of exercise dependence and an implicit association of exercise as important predicted exercise behaviors and change in problematic exercise attitudes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed implicit attitudes of exercise importance and self-reported symptoms of exercise dependence at Time 1. Participants reported daily exercise behaviors for approximately one month, and then completed a Time 2 assessment of self-reported exercise dependence symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Undergraduate males and females (Time 1, N = 93; Time 2, N = 74) tracked daily exercise behaviors for one month and completed an Implicit Association Test assessing implicit exercise importance and subscales of the Exercise Dependence Questionnaire (EDQ) assessing exercise dependence symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Implicit attitudes of exercise importance and Time 1 EDQ scores predicted Time 2 EDQ scores. Further, implicit exercise importance and Time 1 EDQ scores predicted daily exercise intensity while Time 1 EDQ scores predicted the amount of days exercised.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Implicit and explicit processing appear to uniquely predict exercise behaviors and attitudes. Given that different implicit and explicit processes may drive certain exercise factors (e.g., intensity and frequency, respectively), these behaviors may contribute to different aspects of exercise dependence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Miami University, 90 N. Patterson Dr., Oxford, OH 45056.
authors.forename: Lauren N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Forrest
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Miami University, 90 N. Patterson Dr., Oxford, OH 45056.
authors.forename: April R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Miami University, 90 N. Patterson Dr., Oxford, OH 45056.
authors.forename: Lauren M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Fussner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Miami University, 90 N. Patterson Dr., Oxford, OH 45056.
authors.forename: Dorian R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Dodd
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Miami University, 90 N. Patterson Dr., Oxford, OH 45056.
authors.forename: Elise M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Clerkin
keywords: Exercise; exercise dependence; implicit association test