Exploring the Effects of Positive and Negative Normative Information on an Exercise Endurance Task

Background/Purpose: The purpose of this study was twofold: to explore the effect of positive and negative descriptive norm information on a muscular endurance task and to explore the effect the normative information had on self-efficacy. Method: College students (N= 102; 51 males, 51 females, mean age = 22.06 SD 2.27) were randomly assigned to one of three groups; positive, negative, or control. First they performed a maximal effort abdominal plank. During a 3-min rest period participants in the positive and negative groups were given their corresponding norm trigger. Participants then completed a second plank followed by a manipulation check and general measure of task efficacy. Analysis/Results: After controlling for performance on the initial plank, results of the ANCOVA revealed a significant difference between groups [F (2, 98) = 8.152, p .001, η2p = .17], indicating that the provision of positive norm information increased self-efficacy. Conclusions: Findings indicated that positive normative information increased task self-efficacy and facilitated effort that resulted in superior performance on the second abdominal plank. Simply providing a normative trigger (that peers of similar ability performed well) served as a source of vicarious information to bolster self-efficacy, communicating a high expectation that was effective in improving performance. Key words: Social norms, Physical Activity, Self-efficacy

背景与研究目的：本研究兼具双重研究目的：一是探究正负描述性规范信息对腹部平板支撑肌肉耐力任务的影响，二是考察该规范性信息对自我效能感（self-efficacy）的作用效应。
方法：招募102名大学生（51名男性、51名女性，平均年龄22.06，标准差2.27），将其随机分配至三组：正性规范组、负性规范组与对照组。首先，所有参与者完成一次最大负荷腹部平板支撑。在3分钟的休息时段中，正性与负性规范组的参与者分别接收对应类型的规范性提示信息。随后，参与者完成第二次平板支撑任务，接着进行操控检验与任务效能感（task efficacy）的通用量表测量。
分析与结果：在控制初始平板支撑表现作为协变量后，协方差分析（ANCOVA）结果显示，三组间的差异具有统计学意义[F(2, 98) = 8.152, p < 0.001, η²p = 0.17]，表明正性规范信息可有效提升自我效能感。
结论：研究结果表明，正性规范性信息能够提升任务自我效能感并促进个体付出更多努力，最终使第二次腹部平板支撑任务的表现更优异。仅通过提供规范性提示（即能力水平相近的同伴表现优异），即可作为替代性信息来源以强化自我效能感，传递可有效改善任务表现的高期待。
关键词：社会规范、身体活动、自我效能感