Dual Code Theory & Youth Physical Activity Self Efficacy

描述(申请人提供)：几十年来，年轻人的体力活动有所下降。低水平的体力活动与肥胖和某些类型癌症的风险增加有关。必须阻止和/或扭转这一趋势。目前试图增加青年体育活动的方法似乎不能有效地促进青年增加体育活动，这表明需要采取创新的办法。缺乏时间和兴趣等障碍是年轻人不参加更多体育活动的常见原因。自我效能感是行为改变的关键中介，也是干预的共同目标，它会影响一个人试图克服障碍的可能性。在青少年中提高体育锻炼自我效能感的程序需要开发、测试和理论解释。信息处理技术已经被用来增加认知努力，从而影响信息存储和检索。因此，旨在改变青年体力活动的干预措施似乎将受益于包括强调体力活动自我效能以克服障碍的方法，这种方式可能会加强信息处理。计算机化的程序为系统地操纵材料的特性(例如，视觉和语言信息通道)提供了有趣的可能性，这些特性将影响信息处理。双码理论预测，以一种同时利用视觉和语言加工通道的方式呈现信息将导致更多的信息处理，从而导致学习。本研究考察了呈现形式和加工渠道对信息加工和体育锻炼自我效能感的影响。计算机化的多媒体程序将利用双码理论开发，并适用于11-15岁的青少年。在研究1中，将考察呈现形式对信息加工和身体活动自我效能的影响。在研究2中，将使用析因设计来更仔细地考察加工渠道(即视觉和言语)对计算机化程序中的信息加工和身体活动自我效能的影响。这些研究的意义在于有助于我们理解计算机多媒体节目中呈现形式和处理渠道的作用，从而提高青少年的运动自我效能感。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Physical activity among youth has declined over several decades. Low levels of physical activity have been associated with increased risk of both obesity and certain types of cancers. It is imperative that this trend be halted and/or reversed. Current methods attempting to increase physical activity among youth do not appear to be effective at promoting increased physical activity among youth, suggesting that innovative approaches are needed. Barriers, such as lack of time and interest, are commonly cited reasons youth do not engage in more physical activity. Self efficacy, a critical mediator of behavior change and a common target of interventions, affects the likelihood one will attempt to overcome barriers. Procedures to increase self efficacy for physical activity among youth need to be developed, tested, and theoretically explicated. Information processing techniques have been used to increase cognitive effort, and, thereby, impact information storage and retrieval. Thus, interventions to effect change in physical activity among youth would appear to benefit from including an emphasis on physical activity self efficacy to overcome barriers in a manner likely to enhance information processing. Computerized programs offer interesting possibilities for systematically manipulating characteristics of materials (e.g., visual and verbal information channels) that would affect information processing. Dual Code Theory predicts that information presented in a manner that utilizes visual and verbal processing channels simultaneously will result in more information processing and, therefore, learning. The studies in this proposal examine the effect of presentation format and processing channel on both information processing and physical activity self efficacy. Computerized multi media programs will be developed using Dual Code Theory and administered to 11-15 year old youth. In Study 1, the effect of presentation format on information processing and physical activity self efficacy will be examined. In Study 2, a factorial design will be used to more closely examine the effect of processing channel (i.e., visual vs. verbal) on information processing and physical activity self efficacy in computerized programs. The significance of these studies is that they will contribute to our understanding of the role of presentation format and processing channel in computerized multi media programs promoting increased physical activity self efficacy among youth.