Interaction of external, introjected, and identified regulation with intrinsic motivation in exercise: Relationships with exercise enjoyment

Abstract

The present study examined the way in which the exercise-related motives of external regulation, introjected regulation, and identified regulation interacted with intrinsic motivation to relate to exercise enjoyment. The study was conducted to test the "additive relationship hypothesis" emanating from Vallerand and Fortier's (1998) theoretical position regarding the interplay between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in exercise. Exercise participants (N = 516) responded to a self-report questionnaire assessing their reasons for exercise participation before the commencement of a single exercise class. One week later, and immediately prior to the corresponding class, participants reported on their levels of exercise enjoyment. Interactional analyses using linear regression showed a significant interaction between identified regulation and intrinsic motivation. Specifically, the coexistence of high levels of identified regulation with high levels of intrinsic motivation corresponded with higher scores on exercise enjoyment. External regulation and introjected regulation did not interact with intrinsic motivation, thus supporting the research hypotheses. Collectively, the present findings supported the validity of Vallerand and Fortier's theoretical propositions in the exercise domain and specifically the additive relationship hypothesis between identified regulation and intrinsic motivation with respect to exercise enjoyment.