Laboratory Name:

Exercise Psychology Laboratory

Institution: 

The Pennsylvania State University

Key Faculty:

Dr. Danielle Symons Downs

 Contact:

Danielle Symons Downs, PhD

Department of Kinesiology

The Pennsylvania State University

267-N Recreation Bldg

University Park, PA 16802-5701

Office: (814) 863-0456

Lab: (814) 865-0840

Fax: (814) 865-1275

email: dsd11@psu.edu

personal webpage: http://www.personal.psu.edu/dsd11/

   Research Overview:

The objective of the Exercise Psychology Laboratory (EPL) at The Pennsylvania State University is to examine the psychosocial and cognitive determinants of physical activity behaviors in an effort to understand, predict, and explain exercise participation across a variety of populations. More specifically, exercise behavior can be viewed along a continuum from sedentary and low activity to excessive and high activity. Ongoing EPL research studies aim to identify the facilitating and inhibiting factors of people’s physical activity, and in particular, identify points of intervention for exercise behavior change. For example, studies are examining the determinants of exercise behavior in college students, pregnant and postpartum women, older women, worksite populations (e.g., police officers), and children and adolescents using the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior. In addition, studies are examining the correlates of excessive exercise behavior (e.g., exercise dependence symptoms, body image, social physique anxiety, personality characteristics, and sociocultural influences) and the psychometric properties of the Exercise Dependence Scale (Hausenblas & Symons Downs, 2002). The EPL is 1 of 3 Psychology of Movement Laboratories and 1 of over 20 specialized laboratories in the Department of Kinesiology at Penn State.

Recent Publications:

Symons Downs, D., & Hausenblas, H. A. (in press). Elicitation studies     and the theory of planned behavior: A systematic review of exercise beliefs. Psychology of Sport and Exercise.

Hausenblas, H. A., & Symons Downs, D. (2002). How much is too      much? The development and validation of the exercise dependence scale. Psychology and Health, 17(4), 387-404.

Hausenblas, H. A., Symons Downs, D., Fleming, D. S., & Connaughton,  D. P. (2002). Body image in middle school children. The Journal of Eating and Weight Disorders, 7, 244-248.

Sport Psychology Lab Profiles