Why Should Your Activity Tracker Care About How Motivational Messages Look Like to You

We suggest that the way motivational messages look like (their visual presentation, e.g., typefaces, colors) can influence individual's attitudes related to engaging in physical exercise, independently of whether they are mainly intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to exercise. In case individuals are mainly intrinsically motivated, positive affect from aesthetic pleasure should reinforce positive affective responses. If individuals are extrinsically motivated, the aesthetic pleasure alone should be rewarding and influence their cognitive responses. Moreover, regarding individuals who are extrinsically motivated, positive affect from aesthetic pleasure should strengthen the impact of aesthetic pleasure on individuals' attitudes since it should have a positive impact on the individuals' intrinsic motivation (increasing the feeling of joy or, in other words, impacting their affective responses). If our assumptions are verified, this could be particularly relevant to shape individual's attitudes related to physical activity since affective responses can better predict the intention of doing exercise.

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