Exploring the effects of long-term physical exercise on persistent and inhibitory self-control: quasi-experimental research

This study aims to explore the effects of long-term physical exercise on different types of self-control, with a focus on persistent and inhibitory self-control. Two experiments were conducted using dual-task paradigms. In Experiment 1, the E-crossing task served as the depletion task, and the grip...

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Main Authors: Linjing Cheng, Huahui Qin, Yin Yang, Junhua Dang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1543481/full
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author Linjing Cheng
Huahui Qin
Yin Yang
Junhua Dang
Junhua Dang
author_facet Linjing Cheng
Huahui Qin
Yin Yang
Junhua Dang
Junhua Dang
author_sort Linjing Cheng
collection DOAJ
description This study aims to explore the effects of long-term physical exercise on different types of self-control, with a focus on persistent and inhibitory self-control. Two experiments were conducted using dual-task paradigms. In Experiment 1, the E-crossing task served as the depletion task, and the grip task was used to measure persistent self-control. Results indicated that long-term exercisers exhibited significantly better persistent self-control than non-exercisers, F(1, 54) = 6.55, p = .013, ηp2 = 0.11. Experiment 2 employed the Stroop task as the detection task to measure inhibitory self-control. No significant differences were found between the exercise and non-exercise groups in inhibitory self-control performance. These findings suggest that long-term physical exercise may enhance persistent self-control, but its effects on inhibitory self-control remain unclear. The study addresses potential confounding factors, such as task-specific effects and baseline performance differences, and highlights the need for future research to explore diverse self-control tasks and establish causal relationships. The results contribute to the understanding of self-control training and provide insights into the domain-specific effects of physical exercise on self-control.
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spelling doaj-art-aa53b2df8bc24d3099b2f3ced2b18af72025-08-20T02:56:36ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sports and Active Living2624-93672025-03-01710.3389/fspor.2025.15434811543481Exploring the effects of long-term physical exercise on persistent and inhibitory self-control: quasi-experimental researchLinjing Cheng0Huahui Qin1Yin Yang2Junhua Dang3Junhua Dang4School of Business Foreign Languages, Shenzhen Polytechnic University, Shenzhen, ChinaSchool of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, ChinaDepartment of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenThis study aims to explore the effects of long-term physical exercise on different types of self-control, with a focus on persistent and inhibitory self-control. Two experiments were conducted using dual-task paradigms. In Experiment 1, the E-crossing task served as the depletion task, and the grip task was used to measure persistent self-control. Results indicated that long-term exercisers exhibited significantly better persistent self-control than non-exercisers, F(1, 54) = 6.55, p = .013, ηp2 = 0.11. Experiment 2 employed the Stroop task as the detection task to measure inhibitory self-control. No significant differences were found between the exercise and non-exercise groups in inhibitory self-control performance. These findings suggest that long-term physical exercise may enhance persistent self-control, but its effects on inhibitory self-control remain unclear. The study addresses potential confounding factors, such as task-specific effects and baseline performance differences, and highlights the need for future research to explore diverse self-control tasks and establish causal relationships. The results contribute to the understanding of self-control training and provide insights into the domain-specific effects of physical exercise on self-control.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1543481/fullphysical exercisestrength modelpersistent self-controlinhibitory self-controlself-control
spellingShingle Linjing Cheng
Huahui Qin
Yin Yang
Junhua Dang
Junhua Dang
Exploring the effects of long-term physical exercise on persistent and inhibitory self-control: quasi-experimental research
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
physical exercise
strength model
persistent self-control
inhibitory self-control
self-control
title Exploring the effects of long-term physical exercise on persistent and inhibitory self-control: quasi-experimental research
title_full Exploring the effects of long-term physical exercise on persistent and inhibitory self-control: quasi-experimental research
title_fullStr Exploring the effects of long-term physical exercise on persistent and inhibitory self-control: quasi-experimental research
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the effects of long-term physical exercise on persistent and inhibitory self-control: quasi-experimental research
title_short Exploring the effects of long-term physical exercise on persistent and inhibitory self-control: quasi-experimental research
title_sort exploring the effects of long term physical exercise on persistent and inhibitory self control quasi experimental research
topic physical exercise
strength model
persistent self-control
inhibitory self-control
self-control
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1543481/full
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