Testing the moderative role of automatic-reflective affect divergence in predicting physical activity

Dual process theories postulate that behaviour is the product of two distinct cognitive systems, the automatic and reflective, and that congruence/divergence between the two types of cognitions can influence the predictive strength of either system on behaviour. However, the congruence/divergence hypothesis is yet to experience strong empirical support. The aim of this study was to test a novel dual process model to determine the moderating effect of affect divergence on the relationship between affective associations-affective judgements and physical activity. A sample of 315 university students recruited from an undergraduate research pool completed the Affective Misattribution Procedure and Affective Exercise Experiences Questionnaire, followed by a measure of physical activity behaviour one week later. A path analysis revealed a significant moderation effect such that the predictive strength of affective judgements were stronger when participants affective associations and affective judgements were congruent. Findings support current dual process theory and contributes to calls for more interventions such as evaluative conditioning that target automatic processes alongside consciously held beliefs.