Exercise And Social Comparison Theory

Plante et al. (2011). conducted a study to test the social comparison theory by examining how a group of 102 students would react to exercising with an attractive vs not attractive workout partner. The social comparison theory means that someone will compare themselves to someone else, making themselves feel better or worse about how they perceive one’s self. By using the social comparison theory Plante et al. (2011) examined how participants mood, exertion, & enjoyment (Plante) would be impacted dependant on if they were exercising alone or with an attractive vs unattractive female. Plante et al. (Plante) hypothesized that both male and females would push themselves more during exercise when working out next to an attractive female vs unattractive female or alone. They also hypothesized that the mood of both males and females would be dependant if they were/were not exercising next to an attractive female (Plante). This experimental study took 102 undergraduate general psychology students, half male/half females.

These students were picked due to their course requirements, as they must have completed a certain amount of research participant hours in order to receive course credits (Plante, 2011). This experimental study examined the variables which were; attractive/unattractive females, exercise, enjoyment, and attitude. All of the participants were randomly put in 3 different conditions. However, they were all subjected to the same exercise and exercise intensity (stationary bike), regardless of their condition. The independent variable being the attractive and unattractive female’s groups. Plante et al. (Plante) conducted their attractive females as someone “wearing make-up, hair done, and wearing tight and trendy exercise clothes” (Plante). There unattractive female was someone in baggy clothes, hair undone/messy, and a makeup free face (Plante).

The dependant variable or the control group was the group of individuals who were not subjected to the attractive or unattractive females, meaning they exercised alone. In order to determine the results of the study Plante et al. (2011) used an activation-deactivation adjective check list (AD-ACL) post exercise. This is a checklist that determines the participants mood in connection to exercise, assessing things like “calm, tension, energy, and tiredness” (Plante). Additionally, during the experiment heart rate was monitored in all 3 groups. Once the experiment was completed the results from the HR monitors and the AD-ACL were measured in order to conclude the results of the study. Plante et al (2011) found that for both the males and females they enjoyed working out alone as opposed to near an attractive or unattractive female. Meaning people tend to feel more comfortable exercising in situations alone vs around others. It was also found that despite attractiveness males were more tense around females while exercising, whereas females experience a more relaxed mood when exercising around the unattractive group (Plante).

Additionally, the exertion level was not effected within this experiment. In connection to the social comparison theory the study conducted by Plante et al. (2011) found that the participants felt more at ease when they weren’t around someone who made them feel less-than. This study was conducted in a laboratory setting, future studies should compare this setting with an everyday setting to test the difference it may have on the results. Additionally, Plante et al. (2011) only studied the effect of females, future studies should look at the effects on participants when working out near an attractive women and man. Overall, this study was able to connect the social comparison theory to how people react around others in an exercise setting.