Premium
Group and Leadership Effects on Social Anxiety Experienced During an Exercise Class 1
Author(s) -
Martin Kathleen A.,
Fox Lesley D.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2001.tb02659.x
Subject(s) - psychology , leadership style , style (visual arts) , anxiety , social psychology , social anxiety , affect (linguistics) , communication , psychiatry , archaeology , history
This study examined the effects of the group environment and group leadership style on social anxiety experienced by participants ( N = 90) in a 40‐min step aerobics class. In a 2±2 factorial design, group environment (enriched/bland) was manipulated, along with the fitness instructor's leadership style (enriched/bland). Participants in the enriched group condition had significantly higher social anxiety ( M = 15.1) than did those in the bland group condition ( M = 12.0, p < 0.05). Also, participants tended to have less social anxiety when the instructor used an enriched leadership style ( M = 12.4) than when she used a bland leadership style ( M = 14.8, p = 0. 08). Discussion focuses on aspects of the social environment that can affect social anxiety during group exercise classes.