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Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction,Motivation, and Exercise in Older AdultsRena A. Kirkland a , Nancy J. Karlin a , Megan Babkes Stellino b &Steven Pulos aa School of Psychological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado,Greeley, COb School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of NorthernColorado, Greeley, CO

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To cite this article: Rena A. Kirkland, Nancy J. Karlin, Megan Babkes Stellino & Steven Pulos(2011): Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction, Motivation, and Exercise in Older Adults, Activities,Adaptation & Aging, 35:3, 181-196

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Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 35:181–196, 2011Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 0192-4788 print/1544-4368 onlineDOI: 10.1080/01924788.2011.596764

Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction,Motivation, and Exercise in Older Adults

RENA A. KIRKLAND and NANCY J. KARLINSchool of Psychological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO

MEGAN BABKES STELLINOSchool of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO

STEVEN PULOSSchool of Psychological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO

A predominate motivation theory used to predict exercise behavioris self-determination theory, which posits that motivation is drivenby satisfaction of three basic psychological needs: autonomy,competence, and relatedness. This study investigates the relation-ship between motivation, basic psychological needs satisfaction,and exercise in a sample of older adults. Significant differenceswere found between older adult exercisers and nonexercisers inintrinsic motivation, self-determined extrinsic motivation, non-self-determined extrinsic motivation, autonomy, competence, andrelatedness. This study suggests that self-determination theory is asuitable framework to investigate older adult exercise behaviors.

KEYWORDS older adults, exercise motivation, self-determinationtheory, basic psychological needs

Older adults who exercise experience, many health and psychological ben-efits, yet many older adults do not engage in exercise (Hirsch et al., 2010;Kruger, Ham, & Sanker, 2008; Pollard, Taylor, & Smith, 2000). Understandingwhy only some older adults engage in exercise is essential not only forthe health of this sample but also for the economic well-being of society

Received 11 May 2010; accepted 11 May 2011.Address correspondence to Rena A. Kirkland, School of Psychological Sciences,

University of Northern Colorado, 501 20th Street, Campus Box 94, Greeley, CO 80639. E-mail:thom6071@bears.unco.edu

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(Geithner & McKenney, 2010; Yazdanyar & Newman, 2009). One predom-inate motivation theory in sport and exercise is self-determination theory,which posits that motivation is driven by three basic psychological needs:autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Self-determination theory has beena successful framework to investigate exercise motivation in younger adultsand has also helped illuminate why some older adults engage in physicalactivity and others do not. The current study investigates exercise motivationin older adults within the perspective of self-determination theory.

Understanding what motivates individuals to exercise, and under whatcircumstances these motives are most likely to manifest, is not an incon-sequential matter. Consider the health benefits of exercise: lower bloodpressure, lower body fat, lower cholesterol and triglycerides, increased bonemineral density, and decreased risks of coronary heart disease, type 2 dia-betes, chronic diseases, falls, and injuries (Lee, Sesso, & Paffenbarger, 2000;Pollock et al., 2000; Shephard & Balady, 1999; Stewart, 2002). Researchalso suggests that sedentary lifestyles increase morbidity rates (Schnohr,2009). Research in populations of older adults has found similar health andlongevity benefits when individuals engage in regular exercise (Buchner,2009; O’Conner, Rousseau, & Maki, 2004; Schnohr, 2009). Beyond medi-cal and health benefits, exercise has been associated with a higher qualityof life in older adults (Acree et al., 2006; Hirsch et al., 2010; Spirduso &Cronin, 2001).

Based on a substantive body of research, health care providers areincreasingly prescribing exercise programs to older adults for both preven-tive and rehabilitative medical issues (Geithner & McKenney, 2010; Haber& Rhodes, 2004; Katula, Sipe, Rejeski, & Focht, 2004; McDermott & Mernitz,2006; Nelson et al., 2007; Schutzer & Graves, 2004; Thurston & Green, 2004).Although it has become common practice to recommend exercise for healthbenefits, the problem of compliance is paramount (Kruger et al., 2008; Leeet al., 2000). Schutzer and Graves (2004) report that only 30% of older menand 15% of older women participate in sustained physical activity.

Understanding the relationship between motivation and exercise behav-ior in older adults is essential when considering the positive associationbetween maintenance of regular exercise and optimal health outcomes.Previous research with younger adults has identified factors that supportand undermine motivation; however, it cannot be assumed that exercisemotives are the same for younger adults and older adults (Frederick-Recascino, 2002). While the ultimate responsibility of adhering to an exerciseprogram rests on any given individual, a significant amount of researchwith younger adults suggests that practitioners and fitness profession-als can optimize the motivational climate for an individual, leading togreater exercise compliance (Hagger, Chatzisarantis, Culverhouse, & Biddle,2003; Spray, Wang, Biddle, & Chatzisarantis, 2003; Taylor & Ntoumanis,2007).

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Exercise Motivation in Older Adults 183

SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY

Self-determination theory is a dialectic organismic theory of motivation thathas been used to investigate motivated behavior in education (Grolnick &Ryan, 1987; Ryan & Deci, 2007), health care (Williams, Gagne, Mushlin, &Deci, 2005), marriage (Blais, Sabourin, Boucher, & Vallerand, 1990), work(Richer & Vallerand, 1995), prosocial behavior (Gagne, 2003), and sport andexercise (Ryan, Fredrick, Lepes, Rubio, & Sheldon, 1997). At the heart ofself-determination theory is the premise that humans are innately active andare driven by their pursuit to satisfy the psychological needs of autonomy,competence, and relatedness (Ryan & Deci, 2000a).

Self-determination theory purports that the psychological need ofautonomy is fundamental to the growth and active nature of individuals.Autonomy is the psychological need to be the origin of one’s own behavior.When an individual perceives that they have choice in a situation, he or shewill experience high levels of autonomy. Autonomous behavior, as opposedto controlled behavior, is a critical component to understanding motivationwithin the framework of self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2006).

Another basic psychological need, according to self-determination the-ory, is competence. Competence is the psychological need to interacteffectively with one’s environment and to have opportunities to expressone’s abilities. Competence is related to autonomy in that it is reflected inmost of the choices and behaviors in which individuals choose to engage(Conroy, Elliot, & Coatsworth, 2007). The most important aspect of compe-tence is an individual’s perceived competence, that is, the perception thatone can effectively interact with one’s world. Perceived competence in anygiven behavior is associated with higher levels of persistence in that behavior(Elliot, 2005).

The psychological need for relatedness is associated with a sense ofbelonging and connectedness to others within a social context (Baumeister &Leary, 1995). Individuals who perceive high levels of relatedness with peoplein their social environment show adaptive patterns of behavior (Deci & Ryan,2008). Similar to autonomy and competence, relatedness need satisfaction isassociated with perseverance in behavior.

Additionally, self-determination theory accounts for the interactionof an individual’s activity level within his or her social environment(Cohen-Mansfield, Marx, Biddison, & Guralnik, 2004). In other words, thesocial environment critically mediates the action a person takes. As self-determination theory predicts, when the psychological needs of autonomy,competence, and relatedness are satisfied, individuals are more likely to ini-tiate and sustain in a wide range of behaviors (Losier, Bourque, & Vallerand,1993; Rejeski, Ip, Katula, & White, 2006; Vallerand & Losier, 1999).

An additional premise of self-determination theory posits that moti-vation exits on a continuum with amotivation on one end and intrinsic

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motivation on the other (Vallerand & Losier, 1999). Amotivation has beendefined by Deci and Ryan (1985) as the absence of motivation as well as thelack of self-determination. Intrinsic motivation has been defined as the rea-son for engaging in activities for the inherent pleasure and satisfaction in theactivity (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Additionally, between amotivation and intrinsicmotivation, various types of extrinsic motivation exist. In contrast to intrin-sic motivation, extrinsic motivation is behavior that is driven by expectedoutcomes or contingencies and is not driven by the inherent pleasure ofthe activity (Frederick-Recascino & Ryan, 1993). The extrinsic motivationcontinuum is based on relative states of internalization and self-regulation,which is intimately tied to autonomy. Self-determined extrinsic motivationexists when external motives are integrated within an individual’s identityand is driven by self-regulated behaviors. Nonself-determined extrinsic moti-vation is the least internalized motivation, lacks self-regulation, and insteadis guided by external operant contingencies. The distinction between typesof motivation is important because research provides evidence that intrinsicand self-determined extrinsic motivation are related to psychological needssatisfaction, while nonself-determined extrinsic motivation is less related toneeds satisfaction (Vallerand, 2000; Vansteenkiste, Soenens, & Lens, 2007).

Exercise and Self-Determination Theory

Collectively, two prominent findings have emerged from exercise motivationresearch. First, intrinsic motivation and self-determined extrinsic motivationare associated with high levels of exercise adherence. Second, when psy-chological needs satisfaction is met, motivation to engage in exercise isenhanced.

At the most basic level, intrinsic motivation has consistently been foundto be an essential component of exercise adherence with younger adults andadolescents (Frederick & Ryan, 1993; Ryan et al., 1997; Sebire, Standage, &Vansteenkiste, 2009; Vallerand, Deci, & Ryan, 1987). External motivationis also positively associated with physical activity when it is integratedwithin the individual’s expected outcomes and his or her personal identity(Spray et al., 2003; Vansteenkiste, Simons, Soenes, & Lens, 2004). Researchsuggests that self-determined and nonself-determined extrinsic motivationdifferentially explain exercise behavior; specifically, self-determined extrin-sic motivation has been associated with higher levels of exercise thannonself-determined extrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000b).

A substantial amount of research has examined the relationship of basicpsychological needs satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness)with intrinsic motivation and the subtypes of extrinsic motivation. Researchindicates that both intrinsic motivation and self-determined extrinsic motiva-tion are correlated with psychological needs satisfaction as well as exersizelevels (Loiser et al., 1993; Vallerand, & Losier, 1999; Wilson, Rodgers, &

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Fraser, 2002). The relationship found between motives and psychologicalneeds is in line with self-determination theory’s premise that satisfaction ofpsychological needs underlies motivation.

In sum, when psychological needs are satisfied, an individual willbehave in self-determined ways that will lead to initiation and persistence inan exercise program. Research suggests that autonomy is a primary psycho-logical need driving motivation to participate in activities, including exercise.Furthermore, there is substantial evidence that competence and relatednessare central components of self-determination theory, and that they have beenfruitful in explaining exercise behavior. In addition to accounting for differ-ent types of motivational factors, self-determination theory accounts for theinteraction of an individual’s activity level within his or her social environ-ment (Cohen-Mansfield et al., 2004; Deci & Ryan, 2008). Finally, intrinsic andself-determined extrinsic motivation are associated with higher satisfactionof psychological needs than nonself-determined extrinsic motivation and arealso associated with exercise adherence (Deci et al., 2001).

Self-determination theory has been an adequate framework for predict-ing exercise adherence, suggesting methods of increasing motivation andproviding a comprehensive model of describing the heterogeneous natureof an individual’s exercise behaviors. Little research, however, has investi-gated exercise patterns and motivational factors in older adults within thisframework. The following section reviews the existing research.

Exercise Motivation in Older Adults

Dacey, Baltzell, and Zaichkowsky (2008) investigated whether intrinsic andextrinsic motives could differentiate between levels of physical activity inolder adults (age range 50–79; m = 63.8). Both intrinsic motivation and self-determined extrinsic motivation correlated with higher levels of physicalactivity than nonself-determined extrinsic motives. For example, enjoy-ment, an intrinsic motivation, correlated with the highest levels of exercise.Fitness, social/emotional, and stress management are described as beingself-determined extrinsic motivations, which correlated with moderate levelsof exercise participation. Weight management and appearance are consid-ered to be nonself-determined extrinsic motives, and, accordingly, thesetwo factors correlated negatively with exercise. Dacey et al.’s (2008) find-ings suggest that self-determination theory may be an appropriate approachto studying exercise motivation in older adults.

Purpose

The current study is the first to investigate the relationship of psychologi-cal needs satisfaction and exercise in older adults. Additionally, the currentstudy sought to examine differences in intrinsic motivation, self-determined

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extrinsic motivation, and nonself-determined extrinsic motivation in olderadult exercisers and nonexercisers.

Hypothesis

We hypothesized that exercisers and nonexercisers would be significantlydifferent in intrinsic motivation and self-determined extrinsic motivation.Furthermore, we hypothesized that exercisers would show differentialneeds satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness compared tononexercisers.

METHODS

The study was conducted primarily in Colorado’s Front Range (N = 172)with a small subsample obtained in Miracopa County, Arizona (N = 37).The internal review board of a Midwestern university approved the study.

Participants

The participant group was made up of 209 adults (86 male/123 female) age55 and older. Ages ranged from 56 to 95 years (M = 68.69, SD = 10.19, forthe total sample; M = 70.32, SD = 11.13, for females; M = 65.85, SD = 7.50for males). A t test indicated that females were significantly older than males(t = −3.416, p = .001, d = −.492). Males and females did not differ signif-icantly in exercise (t = .597, p = .551). This sample was highly educatedaccording to self-reported demographics; 56% (n = 110) of the participantshad a bachelor’s degree and 38% (n = 73) had graduate degrees. The malestended to be better educated than the females, with 71% of the males hav-ing a bachelor’s degree or higher while only 49% of the females had abachelor’s degree or higher. The socioeconomic status of the participantswas primarily middle to upper class as inferred by occupations reported(lawyers, engineers, scientists, physician assistants, financial analysts, airlinepilots, and research scientists are a few examples). Seventy-eight percent ofthe participants were Caucasian.

Instruments

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SCALE FOR ELDERLY ADULTS (PASE)

The PASE is a 10-item scale developed specifically to assess physical activitylevels in adults age 65 and older during a 1-week time frame (Washburn,Smith, Jette, & Janney, 1993). While three subscales are calculated, includingleisure, household, and occupational physical activities, only leisure is usedin the current study.

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Exercise Motivation in Older Adults 187

Exercise is typically defined as a subset of physical activity; exercise isplanned, structured, and repetitive for the specific purpose of improving ormaintaining physical fitness (Caspersen, Powell, & Christenson, 1985). In thecurrent study, exercise is the variable of interest and, therefore, householdand occupational subscales are not used.

Several studies have examined, and found evidence for, the validityof PASE scores for populations of older adults (Washburn et al., 1993;Washburn, McAule, Katula, Mihalko, & Boileau, 1999). Washburn et al.(1999) examined test-retest reliability of PASE scores after a 3–7-weekinterval and found a reliability coefficient of .75.

An examination of the exercise items found significant skew because ofthe large number of participants who did not exercise at all. For example,item five states: “Over the past 7 days, how often did you engage in stren-uous sport and recreational activities such as jogging, swimming, cycling,singles tennis, aerobic dance, skiing or other similar activities?” When exam-ining the distribution of responses on item five, it was noted that 45% of theparticipants had scores of 0, reflecting no exercise in this domain. The restof the participants were spread across 10 of the 12 responses. Accordingly,we classified individuals as exercisers and nonexercisers based on itemnumber five.

EXERCISE MOTIVATION INVENTORY-REVISED OLDER ADULT (EMI-2/OA)

Exercise motives were measured using the EMI-2/OA, a 37-item Likert-typescale. We used the version modified by Dacey, Baltzell, and Zaichkowsky(2008), which was developed specifically for populations of older adults.Participants were asked to rate on a scale of 1–5 (from “not at all true forme” to “very true for me”) reasons for engaging in physical activity.

The EMI-2/OA provides a mean score for six subscales: enjoyment,fitness, social/emotional, social/emotional stress management, weight man-agement, and appearance. The current study is primarily concerned withthe distinction between intrinsic motivation, self-determined extrinsic moti-vation, and nonself-determined extrinsic motivation. Based on previousresearch, scores for these three variables are obtained by collapsing the sixfactors from the EMI-2OA and calculating their means (Dacey, 2004; Daceyet al., 2008). The intrinsic motivation subscale is made up of the enjoymentfactor. The self-determined extrinsic motivation subscale is comprised ofthree factors; fitness, social/emotional, and stress management. The nonself-determined extrinsic motivation subscale includes weight management andappearance factors.

In the current study, internal consistency was calculated for EMI-2/OAscores for each of the subscales used in this study. Cronbach’s alpha was .95for intrinsic motivation, .85 for self-determined extrinsic motivation, and .79for nonself-determined motivation (N = 209).

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BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS IN EXERCISE SCALE (BPNE)

Vlachopoulos and Michailidou (2006) developed the BPNE to assess psy-chological needs satisfaction of autonomy, competency, and relatednessin exercise. This 12-item scale asks participants to respond from 1 to 5(from “not at all true” to “definitely true”) for each of the items. Thethree subscales—psychological needs satisfaction of autonomy, competency,and relatedness—are assessed by four items each. The BPNE is scored bycalculating a mean, for a possible range of 1–5, for each subscale.

In the current study, internal consistency was calculated for each ofthe subscales using Cronbach’s alpha. Reliability was good for all threesubscales; .83 for autonomy, .87 for competence, and .95 for relatedness.

DEMOGRAPHICS

The final portion of the survey included demographic questions. Informationgathered included the participants’ age, gender, ethnicity, marital status,residence status, general health, injuries, arthritis, financial strain, care-giver status, education, and occupation. The demographic questions weredesigned for the dual purpose of collecting information regarding the sam-ple (age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status) as well as obtaininginformation regarding possible extraneous variables.

Procedures

A total of 500 surveys were distributed between November 2009 andFebruary 2010 in Front Range, Colorado, and Maricopa, Arizona. The 6-pagesurvey takes approximately 15 minutes to fill out and includes 74 items.In an effort to increase cooperation of retirement communities, one of twoincentives were provided: either a free exercise-band class or a presentationon exercise motivation. The response rate where presentations were offeredwas 54%, and for all locations with no incentives was 53%. The responserate was highest for surveys collected by snowball sampling, which was68%. The final response rate for the entire study was 45%.

RESULTS

Differences between exercisers and nonexercisers (Table 1) were exam-ined with a series of t tests with Bonferroni adjustment. A statisticallysignificant effect was found for exercisers versus nonexercisers in intrinsicmotivation, self-determined extrinsic motivation, nonself-determined extrin-sic motivation, autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Table 2). All thedifferences were beyond a small effect size, bearing in mind that from .3to .5 is considered moderate and from .5 to 1.0 is considered large, which,consequently, would not be considered trivial (Cohen, 1988).

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TABLE 1 Descriptive Statistics for Motivation and Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction

Variable N TotalFemale

(n = 124)Male

(n = 80)

Intrinsic motivation 209 3.23 (1.1) 3.19 (1.2) 3.37 (1.1)Nonexercisers 96 2.68 (1.2)Exercisers 113 3.70 (0.9)

Self-determined extrinsic motivation 209 2.97 (0.9) 3.02 (0.9) 2.90 (0.9)Nonexercisers 96 2.66 (1.0)Exercisers 113 3.22 (0.7)

Nonself-determined extrinsic motivation 209 2.97 (1.3) 2.98 (1.3) 3.01 (1.2)Nonexercisers 96 2.63 (1.4)Exercisers 113 3.25 (1.0)

Autonomy 209 3.78 (1.2) 3.93 (1.1) 3.64 (1.2)Nonexercisers 96 3.34 (1.4)Exercisers 113 4.16 (0.9)

Competence 209 3.36 (1.3) 3.46 (1.2) 3.26 (1.3)Nonexercisers 96 3.09 (1.3)Exercisers 113 3.59 (1.1)

Relatedness 209 3.51 (1.5) 3.86 (1.3) 3.02 (1.5)Nonexercisers 96 3.16 (1.6)Exercisers 113 3.80 (1.3)

TABLE 2 t Test Statistics and Cohen’s d Testing the Effect of Exercises VersusNonexercisers on Motivation and Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction

Variable t d

Intrinsic motivation 6.89a .98Self-determined extrinsic motivation 4.73a .67Nonself-determined extrinsic motivation 3.47a .50Autonomy 5.12a .74Competence 2.84a .40Relatedness 3.10a .44

aSignificant beyond the .05 level with a Bonferroni adjustment.

A series of two-by-two ANOVAs examined gender differences andgender by exercisers/nonexercisers interaction in the motivation variablespreviously examined. Using a Bonferroni adjustment, females were sig-nificantly higher than males in the psychological need of relatedness(f = 19.443, p <.001, d = .59). No other significant gender differencesor interactions were found.

DISCUSSION

Significant differences were found between exercises and nonexercisersfor intrinsic motivation, self-determined extrinsic motivation, nonself-determined extrinsic motivation, autonomy, competence, and relatednessat the .01 level. As self-determination theory predicts, the strongest effect

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was found in intrinsic motivation, suggesting that exercise enjoymentis a particularly effective motivational factor for older adults. In addi-tion to intrinsic motives, older adult exercisers differed significantly fromnonexercisers in self-determined extrinsic motivation (fitness improvements,social/emotional benefits, and stress management) and nonself-determinedextrinsic motivation (appearance and weight management).

Self-determination theory postulates that individuals who are intrinsi-cally motivated to exercise are most likely to engage in regular exercise.Furthermore, the theory anticipates that individuals under the guise ofself-determined extrinsic motivates will habitually participate in exercise.Compared to intrinsic motivation and self-determined extrinsic motivation,the theory specifies that nonself-determined motivation is the least effec-tive motive for exercise adherence. The results in the current study followthis pattern; intrinsic motivation had the largest effect, followed by self-determined extrinsic motivation, and finally nonself-determined extrinsicmotivation, which had the smallest effect. Notably, however, all three typesof motives in the current study had moderate to large effects, suggesting thateach of the examined motives are strong factors propelling older adults toexercise.

A rational suggestion for practitioners working with older adults is tofirst identify whether each individual client/patient is working from an intrin-sic or extrinsic form of motivation. If an individual is already working froman intrinsic framework, the practitioner should be cognizant of enhancingand not sabotaging their intrinsic motivation. When considering the largeeffect of intrinsic motivation for exercisers versus nonexercisers, it mightbe advantageous for practitioners to encourage a motivational shift from anexternal to a more intrinsic state. Finally, it is important for practitionersworking with this population to consider that extrinsic motivational factorsmay elicit a motivational scheme that will be sufficient to initiate and sustainexercise behavior.

Practitioners should not “throw in the towel” when they find clients whoare not intrinsically motivated. In this study, results indicate that older adultswho exercise are adequately motivated by extrinsic factors. Professionalsworking with older adults should consider the potential of utilizing extrinsicmotivational factors as a starting place to encourage exercise commencementand compliance.

The results from the current study also provide evidence that the psy-chological needs satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness arepositively associated with exercise adherence in older adults. The moder-ate to large effect sizes for the aforementioned variables suggest that olderadult exercisers have attained psychological needs satisfaction. Professionalsworking with older adults should consider the possibility of encouragingthis population to exercise by enhancing psychological needs satisfaction byincreasing autonomy, competence, and/or relatedness.

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A description of possible motivation interventions is beyond the scopeof this article, but the point should be made that practitioners should becognizant of building their clients’ sense of autonomy and, in particular,competency. A primary finding in self-determination theory research is thatthe more choice a person has in a situation, the more autonomy is feltand, therefore, the more likely the person is to engage in and adhere toan activity (Gagne, Ryan, & Bargmann, 2003; Krane, Greenleaf, & Snow,1997). Practitioners can put these research results into practice by givingolder adults as much choice as possible in exercise program design andincreasing their perceived exercise competence by encouraging appropriategoals and challenges (Vansteenkiste, Simons, Soenens, & Lens, 2004).

Optimal social environments are not likely to be identical for twoindividuals. In order to satisfy the psychological need of relatedness, aprofessional must accurately identify an individual’s motives to foster theenvironment that is socially supportive to that given individual. In otherwords, the specific motivational needs of each client will dictate the impor-tant aspects to emphasize or deemphasize. By evaluating and identifyingmotives, practitioners working with older adults can appropriately foster apositive social environment, which is likely to be a critical component to theclient’s long-term success or failure in adhering to an exercise program.

The current study findings suggest that older adults who exercise aredriven by both intrinsic and extrinsic motives as well as satisfaction of basicpsychological needs. Additionally, this study supports the premise of self-determination theory, which is that satisfaction of the psychological needsis related to motivation and exercise adherence. Accordingly, practitionersmight want to consider motivating older adults to exercise based on thetenants of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in addition to endorsingmotivational factors.

A logical next step for future research would be to investigate inter-ventions for optimizing motivational climates for older adults. Edmunds,Ntoumanis, and Duda (2007) conducted an experimental study testing aself-determined theory-based intervention in a sample of female collegestudents and staff who signed up for a 10-week exercise class. The exper-imental group had significantly greater attendance in the exercise classand had a significant increase in relatedness and competence comparedto the control group. Results from Edmunds et al. (2007) provide evidencethat an intervention based on self-determination theory can be effective inincreasing exercise adherence in a real-life setting. One worthwhile line ofresearch would focus on investigating the effectiveness of similar interven-tions in older adults. Prospective studies using an experimental researchdesign and randomly assigning different types of motivation interventionscan help researchers and practitioners understand the direction of the var-ious components of self-determination theory and their effects on exerciseadherence.

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Limitations

This study is limited in its ability to generalize to a population with demo-graphic features outside this sample. The sample in the present studyis almost entirely Caucasian, highly educated, and upper-to-middle class,which does not equally represent proportions in the broad population ofolder adults. Another limitation of the current study relates to measurement.First, the current study uses self-report measures of behavior, which canbe impacted by social desirability. Also, the majority of the data for thisstudy (83%) was collected in Colorado during the winter. When consid-ering the environmental conditions of winter in Colorado, it is likely thatPASE scores were lower than they would be in summer months. In thecurrent study, about a dozen participants commented in the open-endedquestion at the end of the survey about their exercise levels being lowerbecause of the winter. Finally, directional effects cannot be inferred becauseof the cross-sectional, nonexperimental research design. For instance, it isunclear if intrinsic motivation leads to psychological need satisfaction or ifpsychological need satisfaction leads to intrinsic motivation.

A substantial amount of research provides evidence that exercise adher-ence is greatest when individuals are intrinsically motivated (Wilson, Mack, &Grattan, 2008). Furthermore, self-determination theory research suggests thatthe needs satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are associ-ated with physical activity persistence (Vlachopoulos & Neikou, 2007). Thecurrent study provides support to the idea that older adults who exercise areactive in their pursuit to satisfy the three psychological needs of autonomy,competence, and relatedness, providing evidence that older adults are underthe guise of the motivational tenets put forth by self-determination theory.

A long line of research provides evidence that exercise is associatedwith both the quality and length of life. Physical fitness is intimately tiedto not only the quality of an individual’s life but also to the survival of ourgenome. A premise of achieving physical fitness, and hence reaping healthbenefits, rests on engaging in a long-term exercise program. The dialecticnature of self-determination theory is based on the proclivity of individ-uals to be actively oriented toward growth in addition to the interactionof the individual with the social environment. The current study suggeststhat older adult exercise motivation can be investigated from the theoreticalperspective of self-determination theory.

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