Summary: Personal music selection significantly improves the motivation, emotional response, and satisfaction of gym-goers. Participants choosing their own music were found to be more motivated compared to those for whom the fitness facility selected the music.
Moreover, the perceived motivational value of the music influenced users’ emotional state during workouts. Notably, the level of musical enjoyment correlated with the satisfaction from their workout session.
Key Facts:
- Self-selected music during workouts leads to greater motivation compared to facility-selected music, providing gym-goers with a sense of autonomy.
- The perceived motivational quality of music directly affects the emotional state of gym users, thereby influencing their workout experience.
- The degree of musical enjoyment significantly correlates with overall satisfaction from a workout session.
Source: Inderscience
Research in the International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing sheds light on the effect of music on people using fitness facilities, providing useful insights for the health and fitness industry.
The study shows how different types of music, whether self-selected by those working out or chosen by the fitness facility, affect the emotional and cognitive responses of customers in such environments.
Antonio S. Williams and Zack P. Pedersen of Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, U.S., and Byungik Park of Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea explain that external stimuli, such as music, can influence a person’s emotional and cognitive states, and so they sought to understand whether music could be motivational in the context of exercise.
The researchers recruited 183 self-paced gym users and put them into two groups—one in which they could choose the music they listened to during their workout and a second where the facility selected the music. Tests were carried out in a normal fitness facility rather than a laboratory. The team then used structural equation modeling to analyze the data and evaluate their hypothesis.
Three findings emerged. First, the participants who chose their own music were much more motivated in their fitness activities compared to those in the facility-selected music group. The team suggests that choice in this matter gave the gym users more autonomy which resonated well with their workout.
Second, the perception of whether the music was motivational or not directly affected the gym users’ emotional state. If they were enjoying the music while working out, they felt more motivated, and thus had a heightened emotional response during exercise.
Finally, the level of musical enjoyment chimed with how satisfied the gym users felt with their workout session once completed. In other words, the emotional and cognitive impact of the music directly influenced the overall satisfaction of the customers with their exercise experience.
The implications of this research are substantial for fitness facility managers and owners. Understanding the motivational power of music and its impact on the emotions of their customers could help to optimize the fitness facility environment and enhance the overall experience. Greater satisfaction and enjoyment can then lead to repeat business, of course.
About this music and exercise research news
Author: Press Office
Source: Inderscience
Contact: Press Office – Inderscience
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
“The influence of music on self-paced fitness consumers’ perceived motivational qualities and optimal level of emotional state and satisfaction with exercise experience” by Antonio S. Williams et al. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing
Abstract
The influence of music on self-paced fitness consumers’ perceived motivational qualities and optimal level of emotional state and satisfaction with exercise experience
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of motivational qualities of music elicited by two primary types of music sources (i.e., self-selected music and facility-selected music) on consumer emotional and cognitive responses in a fitness facility environment.
The concept of motivational qualities of music was aligned with Mehrabian and Russell’s stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory.
A survey was administered to self-paced fitness customers (n = 183) who were exposed to either type of music in a natural field experiment setting. SEM was utilised for hypothesis evaluation.
The three hypotheses were confirmed: that SSM provides a greater degree of motivation for fitness facility customers than FSM; that higher perception of motivational qualities of music led to greater arousal and pleasure, and that the greater their pleasure and arousal, the greater their satisfaction with their exercise experience.
