Perceived exertion: Integration of physiological and psychological factors

Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) has been utilized all over the world for the assessment of subjective responses during physical work. Most studies have focused on the physiological contributions to human perception of effort. Since exercise is usually performed in social environments, the impact of the psychological domain of RPE can not be ignored. The general purpose of this study was to investigate how human perceived effort is affected by both physiological and psychological factors. Eighty male college students participated in this study. The Eysenck Personality Inventory, Social Desirability Scale, Self Monitoring Scale, Group Embedded Figures Test (for Field-Independence/-dependence), Physical Self-Efficacy, and Posttest Physical Self-Efficacy were administered as psychological variables. A continuous, multistaged, 25-watt incremented maximal exercise test on cycle ergometer was conducted. Heart rate, oxygen consumption, ventilation, respiratory exchange ratio, and other respiratory variables were collected at the end of each minute during the test. Maximal blood lactate was obtained at the end of the test. Differentiated ratings of perceived exertion (RPE-L, RPE-C) and undifferentiated ratings of perceived exertion were obtained at the end of each minute during the test. The findings of this study showed that perceived effort ratings during exercise are the result of the integration of both physiological and psychological factors. However, the contribution of each domain differed at the various exercise intensity ranges. Physiological factors predominated from moderate to high intensity exercise and psychological factors contributed most when metabolic activity was very low. In addition, psychological variables continued to exert their influence even at heavy exercise intensity. Physical self-efficacy and field-independence/-dependence were found to be consistent contributors to perceived exertion across all exercise intensity ranges