219DOES SOCIAL PHYSIQUE ANXIETY AFFECT WOMEN’S MOTIVATION TO EXERCISE? Does Social Physique Anxiety Affect Women’s Motivation to Exercise?

It can be argued that physique related perceptions both encourage and discourage physical exercise. The role of social physique anxiety as related to exercise motiva-tion was examined in a sample of 94 female undergraduate students. Participants assessed their social physique anxiety, and were then presented with a video of an aerobics class with its members dressed in attire that either emphasized or de-emphasized the physique. Upon conclusion of the video, participants rated their motivation to exercise. Results indicated that low social physique anxiety partici-pants reported higher levels of health-related exercise motivation, while high social physique anxiety participants reported higher levels of appearance-related exercise motivation. Interestingly, participants with high social physique anxiety who viewed the physique-emphasized video had the highest scores in appearance-relat-ed exercise motivation. Further research may focus on the factors, such as body composition or exercise behavior, that mediate the relationship between these vari-ables