Impact

As a laboratory committed to genuinely interdisciplinary research, we aim to have broad impact, spanning across scientific disciplines. Thus far, the impact of our research is visible in three fields: (a) psychology, (b) exercise science, and (c) exercise psychology.

Impact on Psychology

For decades, while exercise researchers asserted that "exercise makes people feel better," exercise was used in psychological experiments as a method of inducing "affectless arousal" (i.e., physiological activation devoid of any pleasure or displeasure). In 1972, in a very influential experiment cited often in psychology textbooks, social psychologist Dolf Zillmann used "strenuous exercise" to induce "physiological arousal" or "excitation," in an effort to test whether arousal can interact with a social manipulation (being provoked) to influence subsequent aggressive behavior. Citing Zillmann's "excitation transfer" studies, psychologists continued using exercise as an "arousal" manipulation until recently. See a couple of examples below.

Following our investigations into the effects of exercise on affect, this perspective started to change. In a chapter entitled "Inducing and measuring emotion and affect: Tips, tricks, and secrets," which appeared in the 2nd edition of the Handbook of Research Methods in Personality and Social Psychology, Quigley, Lindquist, and Feldman Barrett (2014) wrote: "Exercise provides perhaps the most well-characterized way to manipulate peripheral physiological arousal producing an affective change (e.g., Ekkekakis, Parfitt, & Petruzzello, 2011)." Describing exercise as "perhaps the most well‑characterized way" is remarkable considering that other methods used to manipulate peripheral physiological arousal leading to affective change have been studied much more extensively, including various drugs of abuse (e.g., opioids), alcohol, and nicotine. Likewise, the 4th edition of the Handbook of Emotions (2016), for the first time, included a section on affective responses to exercise, citing our work. The shift from "affectless arousal" to "perhaps the most well-characterized way to manipulate peripheral physiological arousal producing an affective change" is testament to the conceptual and methodological quality of the underlying work.

Quigley et al. 2014 — Quigley, K. S., Lindquist, K.A., & Feldman Barrett, L. (2014). Inducing and measuring emotion and affect: Tips, tricks, and secrets. In H. Reis & C. Judd (Eds.), *Handbook of research methods in personality and social psychology* (2nd ed., pp. 220-252). New York: Oxford University Press.

Epel et al., 2016 — Epel, E., Prather, A.A., Puterman, E., & Tomiyama, A.J. (2016). Eat, drink, and be sedentary: A review of health behaviors' effects on emotions and affective states, and implications for interventions. In L. Feldman Barrett, M. Lewis, & J.M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), *Handbook of emotions* (4th ed., pp. 685-706). New York: Guilford.

Impact on Exercise Science

Since the mid-1970s, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the largest and most respected scientific and professional organization of exercise science in the world, has been issuing periodically updated guidelines for exercise testing and prescription aimed at exercise and medical professionals. In addition, in collaboration with other major health organizations (e.g., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association), the ACSM has been issuing physical activity recommendations for health promotion aimed at the general public. The expert panels developing these guidelines and recommendations have traditionally taken into account two considerations: (a) maximizing effectiveness in promoting fitness and/or health while (b) minimizing risk for as large a proportion of the population as possible. This bipartite rationale was adopted from the guideline-development process typically applied to the development of prescriptions for pharmaceuticals. See the explicit statement regarding using these two considerations as the basis of exercise prescription guidelines in the 7th edition (2006).

ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription — American College of Sports Medicine (2006). *ACSM's guidelines for exercise testing and prescription* (7th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

It is becoming clear, however, that limiting the focus on only the maximization of health or fitness benefits and the minimization of risk is fundamentally inadequate in the case of time-consuming and energy-demanding lifestyle behaviors in which people are asked to partake voluntarily and on a regular basis, such as exercise and physical activity. Simply put, it is not sufficient to give people a prescription that is effective and safe. It is also crucial to promote pleasure, so that people will want to return to repeat the activity, voluntarily, regularly, for the rest of their lives.

The incorporation of pleasure as a third pillar underpinning the ACSM exercise prescription guidelines (i.e., the transition from a bipartite to a tripartite rationale) has been a long-term strategic goal of our research.

Initially, in 2010 (8th edition), the ACSM Guidelines recognized that ratings of affective valence may be useful in monitoring and regulating exercise intensity (alongside heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion). Subsequently, in 2013 (9th edition), important innovations were introduced, including the concepts of "affect regulation" (i.e., using pleasure to guide the self-selection of intensity) and "tailoring" of exercise intensity to individuals using a measure of intensity preference and intensity tolerance such, namely our PRETIE-Q.

ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 8th edition — American College of Sports Medicine (2010). *ACSM's guidelines for exercise testing and prescription* (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

ACSM's guidelines for exercise testing and prescription, 9th edition — American College of Sports Medicine (2013). *ACSM's guidelines for exercise testing and prescription* (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

ACSM American Diabetes joint position statement — Colberg, S.R., Sigal, R.J., Fernhall, B., Regensteiner, J.G., Blissmer, B.J., Rubin, R.R., Chasan-Taber, L., Albright, A.L., & Braun, B. (2010). Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes: The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Diabetes Association joint position statement. *Diabetes Care, 33*(12), e147-e167. [DOI]

ACSM Quantity and Quality Statement — American College of Sports Medicine (2011). Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: Guidance for prescribing exercise. *Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 43*(7), 1334-1359. [DOI]

Unfortunately, all these ground-breaking ideas were later removed from the 10th edition of the guidelines. However, even though the American guidelines seem to be backtracking, the importance of pleasure and the need for a transition to a tripartite rationale for exercise prescriptions and physical activity recommendations are ideas that are gaining traction in other countries. These are some examples from France and the United Kingdom.

Giraud et al., 2012 — Guiraud, T., Labrunée, M., Gayda, M., Juneau, M., & Gremeaux, V. (2012). Non-pharmacological strategies in cardiovascular prevention: 2011 highlights. *Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 55*(5), 342-374. [DOI]

INSERM — Inserm (2019). *Activité physique: Prévention et traitement des maladies chroniques* (Collection expertise collective). Montrouge, France: Éditions EDP Sciences. ISBN: 978-2-7598-2328-4 [Link]

Disability UK guidelines — Smith, B., Kirby, N., Skinner, B., Wightman, L., Lucas, R., & Foster, C. (2018). Physical activity for general health benefits in disabled adults: Summary of a rapid evidence review for the UK Chief Medical Officers' update of the physical activity guidelines. London, Public Health England. [PDF]

Impact on Exercise Psychology

Since the dawn of exercise psychology in the late 1960s, journal articles and textbooks in sport and exercise psychology echoed the conclusion that "exercise makes people feel better." Moreover, there was no reliable evidence that high exercise intensity could attenuate this "feel-better" effect.

Dunn & Blair, 1997 — Dunn, A.L., & Blair, S.N. (1997). Exercise prescription. In W.P. Morgan (Ed.), *Physical activity and mental health* (pp. 49-62). Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis. [DOI]

Buckworth et al. — Buckworth, J., Dishman, R.K., O'Connor, P.J., & Tomporowski, P. (2013). *Exercise psychology* (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. ISBN: 9781450407090

Taking a critical stance toward this consensus, a 20-year international effort first overhauled the methodological platform used in this line of research (how affect is conceptualized; when affect is assessed; how individual differences are treated; how exercise intensity is standardized across individuals; how affective changes are analyzed) and subsequently reliably described the shape of the dose-response relation between exercise intensity and affect. This research resulted in the "rewriting of the textbooks," which now reflect results showing that (a) the exercise-induced "feel-better effect" is conditional, (b) there can be negative, as well as positive, affective changes among most adults, (c) there is a complex dose-response relation between exercise intensity and affect, and (d) there is substantial interindividual variation, the extent of which changes systematically across different levels of exercise intensity.

Biddle et al. — Biddle, S.J.H., Mutrie, N., & Gorely, T. (2015). *Psychology of physical activity: Determinants, well-being and interventions* (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. [DOI]

Gill et al. — Gill, D.L., Williams, L., & Reifsteck, E.J. (2017). *Psychological dynamics of sport and exercise* (4th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. ISBN: 9781492580720

Cox, R.H. (2012). *Sport psychology: Concepts and applications* (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780078022470

Marin et al. (2019) — Martin, J.J., Beasley, V.L., & Guerrero, M.D. (2019). Sport psychology research: Proper standards and limitations. In M.H. Anshel (Ed.), *APA handbook of sport and exercise psychology* (Vol. 1, pp. 17-40). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [DOI]