Exercise and health psychology have generated 2 sets of empirical studies guided by separate theory-driven axes.The first axis focuses on the causal relationship between chronic exercise and cognition and,more particu...Exercise and health psychology have generated 2 sets of empirical studies guided by separate theory-driven axes.The first axis focuses on the causal relationship between chronic exercise and cognition and,more particularly,high-level cognitive functions such as executive functions(EFs).The second axis examines factors influencing the adherence process to physical activity(PA).Research conducted during the past decade shows that these 2 topics are closely linked,with EFs and effortful control playing a pivotal role in the bidirectional relationship linking PA and mental/brain health.The present article supports the idea that an individual engaged in the regular practice of effortful PA initiates a virtuous circle linking PA and effortful control in a bidirectional way.On the one hand,chronic exercise leads to an improvement of EFs and effortful control.On the other hand,gains in EFs and effortful control effectiveness lead to a reciprocal facilitation of the maintenance of PA over time.Some limitations and perspectives to this effort hypothesis are proposed in the last part of the article.展开更多
基金supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR-12-MALZ-005-01)
文摘Exercise and health psychology have generated 2 sets of empirical studies guided by separate theory-driven axes.The first axis focuses on the causal relationship between chronic exercise and cognition and,more particularly,high-level cognitive functions such as executive functions(EFs).The second axis examines factors influencing the adherence process to physical activity(PA).Research conducted during the past decade shows that these 2 topics are closely linked,with EFs and effortful control playing a pivotal role in the bidirectional relationship linking PA and mental/brain health.The present article supports the idea that an individual engaged in the regular practice of effortful PA initiates a virtuous circle linking PA and effortful control in a bidirectional way.On the one hand,chronic exercise leads to an improvement of EFs and effortful control.On the other hand,gains in EFs and effortful control effectiveness lead to a reciprocal facilitation of the maintenance of PA over time.Some limitations and perspectives to this effort hypothesis are proposed in the last part of the article.
