Effect of Personality Type on Exercise Modality Choice

The unhealthy lifestyles of many individuals throughout the world put them at risk for health problems, including infectious disease; endocrine, circulatory, cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive disorders; and obesity. The modifiable health risks from unhealthy lifestyles account for a sizable percentage of health care costs. Regular exercise is recommended for health. However, currently little research exists regarding how individuals select which exercise regimens (personal training, group exercise, multimedia exercise, and self-directed) to follow. Selection of regimens that are based on one\u27s personality may lead to regular, long-term exercise behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine whether personality was related to preference for different modalities among regular exercisers and whether the demographics of age and gender moderated this relationship. The theoretical foundation for the study consisted of the Big-5 personality theory. The nonexperimental quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive research design included the brief version of the Big-5 Inventory (BFI-10) and an exercise modality preference survey, which were administered to 199 individuals aged 25-65 years old who exercise at least twice a week. Results of the logistic regression analyses provided evidence that individuals highest on neuroticism levels were more likely to prefer group exercise while those highest on openness preferred any method of exercise that did not incorporate technology. The findings have implications for social change as they may guide health and fitness providers when recommending treatments to their patients to increase exercise adoption and maintenance. This, in turn, may improve individual health and lower costs associated with health care