A CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF EXERCISE PARTICIPATION MOTIVES IN THE FITNESS CENTER BETWEEN HONG KONG AND AMERICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS LIU MEI YAN

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1 A CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF EXERCISE PARTICIPATION MOTIVES IN THE FITNESS CENTER BETWEEN HONG KONG AND AMERICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS BY LIU MEI YAN AN HONOURS PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND RECREATION MANAGEMENT (HONOURS) HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY JULY, 2014

2 HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY 25 th JULY, 2014 We hereby recommend that the Honours Project by Miss Liu Mei Yan entitled A cross cultural analysis of exercise participation motives in the fitness center between Hong Kong and American university students be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Physical Education and Recreation Management. Dr. Kim Seungmo Prof. Lau Wing Chung Chief Adviser Second Reader

3 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this honours project A cross cultural analysis of exercise participation motives in the fitness center between Hong Kong and American university students represents my own work and had not been previously submitted to this or other institution for a degree, diploma or other qualification. Citations from the other authors were listed in the references. Liu Mei Yan 25 th July, 2014

4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my chief advisor, Dr. Kim Seungmo for his kindness and constructive guidance throughout the entire project. I would also like to show my special thanks to Prof. Lau Wing Chung to be my second reader to review this project. Moreover, I would like to give my appreciation to all participants who had given the essential data in this study. Finally, I would like to give special thanks to my friends for their support. Liu Mei Yan Department of Physical Education Hong Kong Baptist University Date: 25 th July, 2014

5 ABSTRACT The purpose of the present study was to examine the exercise participatory motivation in fitness center of university students in America and Hong Kong. 154 males and 118 females completed the modified exercise motivation inventory-2 questionnaires. Results showed 5 out of 14 motivation subscales found to have significant difference in motivation of exercising in the fitness center between places of study and 5 out of 14 motivation subscales found to have significant difference in motivation of exercising in the fitness center between cultural backgrounds. Also, 5 out of 14 motivation subscales found to have significant difference in motivation of exercising in the fitness center between genders in the same place of study while 7 out of 14 motivation subscales found to have significant difference in motivation of exercising in the fitness center between genders in the same cultural background. Generally, men were motivated by performance and ego-oriented factors such as challenge,

6 strength and endurance but also concerned about health, and women were motivated by positive health, weight management and strength and endurance. The findings may facilitate the design and implementation of exercise program and equipment for fitness industry.

7 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION... 1 Statement of the Problem... 5 Definition of Terms... 6 Delimitations... 6 Limitations... 7 Hypotheses... 8 Significance of the Study REVIEW OF LITERATURE Cross-Cultural Studies Cross Cultural Studies in Sport/Leisure/ Exercise Demands and Motivation of Fitness Industry Gender Differences for Participation Motives in Exercise or Sport in College Students Exercise participation in Hong Kong Participation Motivation Measuring Instruments... 18

8 CHAPTER PAGE Summary METHOD Sample of Selection Measuring Instrument Collection of Data Statistical Data Analysis ANALYSIS OF DATA Descriptive statistics of demographic information. 27 Reliability of the 15 subscales Description of the 14 subscales among all participants Description of the 14 subscales among all male and female participants Ranking of 14 motivation subscales, by Gender Description of the 14 subscales among all participants of different places of study... 40

9 CHAPTER PAGE Description of the 14 subscales among male and female participants of different places of study Ranking of 14 motivation subscales, by Gender and Place of Study Description of the 14 subscales among all participants in different Cultural Backgrounds...54 Description of the 14 subscales among male and female participants in different Cultural Backgrounds Ranking of 14 subscales, by Gender and cultural Background Comparisons of Motivation by Place of Study and Gender Comparisons of Motivation by Cultural Background and Gender Discussions SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Summary of Results... 88

10 CHAPTER PAGE Conclusions Recommendations REFERENCES APPENDIX A. Questionnaire for American Students B. Questionnaire for Hong Kong Students

11 LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Demographic information of the participants Reliability of 15 motivation subscales Reliability of 14 motivation subscales Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of all participants on the 14 motivation subscales Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the male participants on the 14 motivation subscales Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the female participants on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking of Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 Subscale Motives for exercising in fitness center, by Gender Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of all participants studying in America on the 14 motivation subscales... 41

12 TABLE PAGE 7.2 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of all participants studying in Hong Kong on the 14 motivation subscales Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the male participants studying in America on the 14 motivation subscales Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the male participants studying in Hong Kong on the 14 motivation subscales Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the female participants studying in America on the 14 motivation subscales Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the female participants studying in Hong Kong on the 14 motivation subscales... 51

13 TABLE PAGE 9. Ranking of Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 Subscale Motives for exercising in fitness center, by Gender and Place of study Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of all participants in American cultural background on the 14 motivation subscale Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of all participants in Asian cultural background on the 14 motivation subscales Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the male participants in American cultural background on the 14 motivation subscales Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the male participants in Asian cultural background on the 14 motivation subscales... 61

14 TABLE PAGE 11.3 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the female participants in American cultural background on the 14 motivation subscales Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the female participants in Asian cultural background on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking of Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 Subscale Motives for exercising in fitness center, by Gender and Cultural Backgrounds Two-way ANOVA with Place of Study x Gender Two-way ANOVA with Cultural Background x Gender TABLE PAGE 15. Frequency of type of exercise for the 1 st preference Exercise Preference between male and femal e participants... 75

15 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Evidence shows that physical activity has improved both physical and psychological aspects of life. (Kilpatrick, Hebert & Bartholomew, 2005; U.S. Department of Health and Human Service [USDHHS}, 2008) However, certain studies(bray & Born, 2004; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011) found that when transition from high schools to college, there is a significant decrease in physical activities, 55.6% of high school students participate for muscle strengthening exercise for 3 days or more but only 22.7% of college students participate. Though decrease in college students physical activity level is observed, there s increase number of gym membership and demand of fitness club throughout the world. (American Fitness, 2012; International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association [IHRSA], 2006).Research has shown that exercise behavior in adolescents and college years should be concerned because it may continue through adulthood (Calfas,

16 2 Sallis, & Nichols, 2000; Chan et al., 2003). The individual s motivation to exercise is one of the contributions in his/her exercise participation level (Chung & Liu, 2013; Lewis & Sutton, 2011),some researchers(e.g. Kilpatrick et al., 2005;Ulseth, 2008; Weinberg, et al., 2000) has examined the difference in participation motives between sport and exercise or fitness activities from youth to college students to general population. Motivation for exercise is mainly based on extrinsic and fitness such as appearance, mental health reasons and weight management. Mathes and Battista (1985) found college students to be more interested in the health and fitness benefits that lead to involvement in physical activity was supported. More research on understanding the motivation that influence exercise behavior are needed. (Chan et al., 2003; Iannotti et al., 2012) Therefore, motivation towards exercise in the fitness center or club during college years and intentions to continue exercise after graduation should be examined to see if there s

17 3 a relationship between the motivation and exercise continuation. Gender differences in motivation for participating in exercise have been observed. A number of studies revealed that men tend to favor competitive, challenge and fitness motivation while women exercise due to appearance, health and fitness (Biddle & Bailey, 1985; Kilpatrick et al, 2005; Mathes & Battista, 1985; Pauline, 2013) and also because it is an opportunity for social relationship development (Mathes & Battista, 1985; Biddle & Bailey,1985). 46.1% of college students in the United States do moderate intensity of aerobic exercise for at least 30 minutes 3 days of the past 7 days before the survey. (American College Health Association [ACHA], 2011) Nevertheless, Jones, Dean and Lo (2002) found that less than 30% of the university students cohort in Hong Kong participates in regular exercise and even those who did were below the recommended frequency and they had a poor aerobic conditioning compared with the western

18 4 counterparts. As the effects of different motivations are dependent on ethnicity (McKechnie, Grant, Shabbir, Ganesh, & Ganesh, 2006) and geographical location (Iannotti, et al., 2012),the comparison of motivation among the participants from different cultures may be helpful in understanding youth s physical activity behaviors (Yan & McCullagh, 2004). Limited research was identified on differences of participation motives of individuals on a particular activity between Eastern and Western cultures. Hayashi (1991) compared the motivations for running marathon between American and Japanese. Kirkby, Kolt and Liu (1999) compared the motives among young gymnast in China and Australia while Park (2005) compared the motivation for participating in action sports between American and Korean. Study of the cultural differences and gender differences in the participatory motivation in exercising in fitness centers and their intention of exercise continuation after college between Hong Kong s university students and their

19 5 American counterparts would help to develop effective interventions to motivate college students to be more physically active across the culture. Statement of the Problem The purpose of this study was to examine if there existed significant differences on participatory motivation in exercising in fitness centers between Hong Kong s university students and their American counterparts. In addition, the degree of gender discrepancies in motivation to exercise in a fitness center between cultures and within cultures was determined.

20 6 Definition of Terms Participation Motives Participation motives are defined as the contents of individuals goals for participating in a particular domain of behavior. (Ingledew & Markland, 2008) Fitness Center Fitness center are a building or a place in a building with exercise equipment includes 1) free weights (e.g. dumbbells and barbells, 2)weight/resistance machines, 3)cardiovascular training-related equipment(e.g. treadmills, elliptical, stationary exercise bikes) that people can use for exercise. Delimitations The delimitations of the study were listed as followings: 1. The selected samples were university students that going out of the university s fitness center from 1 university in Hong Kong and 1 in the United States.

21 7 2. All the questionnaires were distributed and collected by the researcher from April to June in Limitations The following limitations should be considered when interpreting the results of the study. 1. It was assumed that all subjects would answer the questions honestly. 2. The sample size was not large enough to provide a good generalization both in the population of 2 places university students and beyond the population of university students since the subjects was limited due to convenient sampling method and from only 1 school of both cultures. 3. Environmental factors such as parental influences, educational level or socio-cultural differences might affect the motivational factors. 4. The Questionnaire was written in English that was not the

22 8 first language of the respondents in Hong Kong. Answer quality was not guaranteed. Hypotheses The following hypotheses were formulated for the current study: 1. There would be significant mean differences on participatory motivations in exercising in the fitness center between university students study in the United States and Hong Kong. 2. There would be significant differences on gender discrepancies in motivations to exercise in a fitness center between cultures and within cultures.

23 9 Significance of the Study According to Hui(2004) and Ng(2005),exercise behaviors of university students have been found from mainly the Western Culture but not the Asian Culture, as there s difference in lifestyle and culture of Hong Kong people from Western people, more studies that examine the cultural basis of psychological condition in sport and physical activity is in need (Biddle, 1995). As Hong Kong university students exercise behaviors are inadequate and lower compared with their Western counterparts (Jones, Dean & Lo, 2002; Ng, 2005), understanding motivation would be the key to promote and establish physical activity (Dishman and Sallis, 1994). Therefore, the present study will explore the cultural and gender difference on the participation motives of exercising in fitness center between Hong Kong and American university students. This may contribute to some changes in the values in the education systems, improvement in facilities and

24 10 enhance the fitness level of students and eventually continue into adulthood.

25 11 Chapter 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE The review of literature was divided into five sections. The sections were: (1) Cross-Cultural Studies (2) Cross Cultural Studies in Sport/Leisure/Exercise, (3) Demands and Motivation of Fitness Industry, (4) Gender Differences for Participation Motives in Exercise or Sport in College Students, (5) Exercise participation in Hong Kong (6) Participation Motivation Measuring Instruments, and (7) Summary. Cross - Cultural Studies According to van de Vijver and Leung (1997), cross-cultural studies provide productive developments in psychology and allow it to grow into a valid and global discipline and Dimanche (2011) described that culture affect people s attitudes and behavior so it is important to understand the differences in this culturally diverse global environment. Besides psychology, many cross-cultural researches have been

26 12 done in the disciplines of sociology, education, the political sciences and management. In the business perspective, Luo, Hock and Roos (2001) identified that in order to success in today s globalized business world, to understand how to manage logistics in a cross-cultural context is essential. As most countries are now having multicultural populations, Australia has people immigrated from over 150 countries since 1945, cross - cultural studies in different disciplines offer governors, owners to develop strategies in government and organization planning. Cross-Cultural Studies in Sport/Leisure/Exercise Yan & McCullagh (2004) indicated that socio-cultural factors like parental influences or support are important to the observed differences of people s participatory motivation in health or fitness-related activities among Chinese, American born Chinese and American due to significant cultural

27 13 differences but not age or gender difference. However, regional, gender and age differences towards motivation in Physical Activity among 11, 13, 15 year-old students from 7 countries representing Eastern Europe, Western Europe and North America were shown (Iannotti et al.,2012) while age differences were not observed in measuring the participation motivation and student s physical activity among 3 European countries sport students. (Kondric, Sindik, Furjan- Mandic, & Schiefler, 2013) Though there has been cross-cultural researches conducted, Valentine, Allison, and Schneider (1999) reviewed 1,352 published articles in three leading leisure-science journals, only 20(1.5%) of these were cross-national in which there is a need to expand the research agenda so as to provide a global perspective in leisure-studies.

28 14 Demands and Motivation on fitness industry There is an increasing demand of fitness centers or clubs throughout the world. The National Sporting Goods Association (2008) showed that there was a described rise of 27.5% in number of individuals working out in a health or fitness club million Participants exercised with equipment in 2009 (National Sporting Goods Association [NSGA], 2010).Gym membership numbers in the United States (U.S.) have increased a lot from the last 10 years, from 36.3 million in 2002 to more than 43.6 million by 2012 (American Fitness, 2012). There were estimated 36,900 fitness clubs across Europe (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association [IHRSA], 2006), all of these contributed to more than 120 million memberships throughout the world (Partnership Capital Growth, 2010). Fitness industry has been a huge sport business market that cannot be overlooked. Research has been focused on increasing the overall exercise experience of members of the profit-oriented fitness

29 15 centers by creating a suitable environment and services. (Brown & Fry, 2011; Afthinos, Theodorakis, & Nassis, 2005) Motivation for exercise in a fitness center has been explored in relate to extroversion personality trait (Lin, Chen, Wang & Cheng, 2007), body image outcomes (Prichard & Tiggermann, 2008) and specific type of fitness activities aerobics class (Laverie, 1998) Personality traits affects the motives for participating exercise in fitness center. Extroverted personality was positively correlated with leisure motivation in which an environment that promote intellectual, social, competency-mastery and relaxing factors attracts more users. (Lin, Chen, Edward, & Cheng, 2007) But the sole motivational factors affecting individual s decision in exercising in the fitness center has not been discussed. Rejeski & Kenney(1988) showed many examples that people will begin and maintain exercise only if the outcomes of the behaviour are valued greater than the competition of other

30 16 interests and/or responsibilities in daily life. Gender Differences for participation motives in exercise or sport in college students Many researches indicated that gender difference plays an important role in college students participatory motivation in exercise or sport. Kilpatrick et al. found motivation for sport are basically intrinsic, including enjoyment and challenge but for exercise are extrinsic. While McArthur and Raedeke (2009) found that there s no significant gender differences in health/fitness motives for exercise, college men are usually motivated by challenge, competition, social recognition and strength and endurance while college women are motivated by appearance, weight management, stress management (Kilpatrick et al, 2005; Mathes & Battista, 1985; Pauline, 2013) and develop social relationships. (Biddle & Bailey, 1985; Mathes & Battista, 1985) All these indicated there s a need to consider gender when developing exercise

31 17 interventions for college students (Pauline, 2013). Exercise Participation in Hong Kong According to Leisure and Cultural Services Department [LCSD] (2009): Over half (51.4%) of the Hong Kong people failed to meet the level of the baseline indicator of physical activity level. The baseline indicator is set at a level of at least an accumulation of 30 minutes a day and at least three days a week in moderate or vigorous physical activities. (p.1) In another survey conducted in 2010 (Centre for Health Protection, 2010) over 50% of the 2013 respondents had not participated in any moderate physical activity for at least 10 minutes a day. Hong Kong university students leisure exercise behavior was inadequate (Fu, Chow, Chung, & Louie, 1998), Linder and Speak (1995) suggested over 50% of university students have never or rarely engaged in physical

32 18 activity. Jones, Dean and Lo (2002) found that enhancing physical fitness may help against or mitigate anxiety and stress among Hong Kong university students. Nonetheless, not until these 10 years, some researchers (e.g. Ng, 2005; Tsai, 2005; Chung & Liu, 2013) have been started focusing on the influence and motivation on exercise participation of the university students in Hong Kong. Participation Motivation Measuring Instruments Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 (EMI-2) Markland and Hardy (1993) developed a new measure for participation motives to see the influence of motives on exercise participation, which is the Exercise Motivations Inventory (EMI). The EMI was based on the perspective of self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) to examine the relationship between types of activities and the participation motives, reasons for exercising and how in return the activity effect on the motives.

33 19 However, the EMI had some weaknesses that it did not measure the fitness-related and health-related reasons for exercising and not applicable to individuals that were not exercising so it was not useful enough to provide a comprehensive measure for all individuals. Therefore, Markland and Ingledew (1997) developed the Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 (EMI-2), which was applicable to everyone, and subscales were improved. The EMI-2 is composed of 51 items of 14 subscales with the factorial validity tested. Participant Motivations Questionnaire (PMQ) Gill, Gross, and Huddleston (1983) developed the Participant Motivations Questionnaire (PMQ) contains 8 motivational factors namely achievement, team (affiliation/social), fitness, energy release, to be with others, skill, friends, and fun. It also employs open-ended questions to measure youth s sport or physical activity participations motivations.

34 20 PMQ has been modified into numerous versions for almost all age groups, any kinds of sport and physical activity. It varied from 22 to 50 items, point scales, and factors representing motives for participation could be derived from as few four up to as many as 11 factors in which there is not a stable version established.(chowdhury, 2012)Validity of the PMQ with college students has been confirmed (Rickel, Park, Morales, 2012) Summary Cross cultural research in Sport/Leisure/Exercise area was needed in order to compare the differences under cultural and gender effect, especially for Asian culture which is lack of research for better development. Relationship between motivation and exercise participation in college students in the fitness industry should be understood so as to continue the fitness trend throughout the adult life. Several measures can be used to obtain the result.

35 21 Chapter 3 METHOD The method of the study was presented in the following sections: (a) Sample of selection, (b) Measuring instrument, (c) Collection of data and (d) Statistical Data Analysis. Sample of Selection The subjects were selected randomly at the entrance or exit of the fitness center after students exercising in it. The random sampling was based on the systematic counting that every 3rd person entered the fitness center. The purpose of the project would be explained, and then asked if individuals would be willing to participate voluntarily without any advantage or penalty. A total number of 272 subjects participated in the study with 154 male and 118 female entering the fitness center.

36 22 Measuring Instrument The questionnaire consisted of three main parts. The first part was the acknowledgement of voluntarily completing of questionnaire. The second part was the modified Exercise Motivation Inventory 2 developed by Markland & Ingledew (1997). Last Part was the demographics questions concerning personal characteristics, such as gender, age, nationality, educational level (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior or graduate, etc), majors, number of years of have been studying in the US or Hong Kong, average amount of time exercising, types of exercises they do in the fitness center and whether they are student-athletes or not. Participants were required to complete a set of 54 items which based on 15 subscales including, affiliation, appearance, challenge, competition, enjoyment, health pressures, ill-health avoidance, nimbleness, positive health, revitalization, social recognition, stress management, strength and endurance, weight management, and free usage of

37 23 facility. The reliability of original EMI-2 of 14 subscales in previous literature vary from , but health pressures ( = 69; Ingledew et al. 1998; Markland & Ingledew, 1997) and revitalization ( =.56; Ingledew & Sullivan, 2002) subscales are generally displaying consistently lower reliability measures (Tenenbaum, Eklund & Kamata, 2012). Last subscale was added by 3 items to see whether the free usage of college facility is a motivation for students to exercise in the fitness center. Each subscale comprised of 3 or 4 questions. The response items were ranged from 1 to 5 in which 1 represents not at all true for me to 5 represents very true for me. The subscale scores were computed by obtaining the mean of item scores. The questions would be randomly arranged and listed and the subscales would not be presented in the questionnaire. Original wording of Personally, I exercise (or might exercise) was changed to Personally, I go workout (or might workout) for American university students and Personally, I exercise in the gym (or might exercise in the

38 24 gym) for students in Hong Kong to avoid construct bias (Matsumoto & van de Vijver, 2011). Last part was demographic questions about respondents personal characteristics of age, gender, nationality, program and year they were studying in college, amount and type of exercise they did in the fitness center etc. The presence of all these contextual factors is enhancing the validity. (Matsumoto & van de Vijver, 2011) Collection of Data The participants were randomly selected by every 3rd student who entered the university s fitness center. After explaining the purpose of project and the questionnaire, all the volunteers were required to fill in the questionnaire. The questionnaires were collected when they left the fitness center.

39 25 Statistical Data Analysis After data collection, all of the questionnaires were put into further analysis and were inputted into the Statistical Package of the Social Science (SPSS) for Window 22.0 version. The significant (alpha) level was set at.05. Descriptive statistics will be used to describe the demographic information such as gender, age, nationality, number of year studying in the U.S. or Hong Kong, the average amount of time spent in the fitness center, preference of type of exercises. To examine cultural and gender differences in the participation motives in exercising in the fitness center, 2-way ANOVA (Place of Study x Gender and Cultural Background x Gender) were carried out using means to determine group ranking of exercise motivations.

40 26 Chapter 4 ANALYSIS OF DATA The purpose of the study was to find out the cultural and gender difference in motivation of exercising in the fitness center for university students in America and Hong Kong. The analysis of data was presented in this chapter according to the following order: (1) Descriptive statistics of demographic information, including sample size, gender, age, cultural background, and number of student-athletes. (2) Reliability of the 15 subscales. (3) Description of the 14 subscales among all participants (4) Ranking of 14 motivation subscales. (5) Description of the 14 subscales among all male and female participants. (6) Ranking of 14 motivation subscales, by Gender (7) Description of the 14 subscales among all participants of different places of study.

41 27 (8) Description of the 14 subscales among male and female participants of different places of study. (9) Ranking of 14 motivation subscales, by Gender and Place of Study (10) Description of the 14 subscales among all participants in different Cultural Backgrounds. (11) Description of the 14 subscales among male and female participants in different Cultural Backgrounds. (12) Ranking of 14 subscales, by Gender and cultural Background (13) Comparisons of Motivation by Place of Study and Gender (14) Comparisons of Motivation by Cultural Background and Gender Descriptive Statistics of Demographic Information Sample Size A total of 284 questionnaires were distributed. All cases were returned. However, 4 questionnaires with extreme missing

42 28 data (i.e. 5 or more motivation items) and 8 were answered in an inappropriate pattern were excluded. As a consequence, a total of 272 participants remained in the study. 138 American (50.7%) and 134 Hong Kong (49.3%) university students were involved in this study. Background information There were total of 154 male (56.6%) and 118 female (43.4%) students aged between 17 to 29 years old responded to the questionnaire. 76 (27.9%) of them were student-athletes in university while 196 (72.1%) were not. 18 of the student-athletes were studying in America while 58 of them in Hong Kong. Table 1 Background Demographics Frequency(N) Percentage (%) Gender Male Female Total Place of Study America Hong Kong

43 29 Cultural Background 115 students were American or African American who grew up in an American cultural family while 154 students were Asian or Asian American who grew up in an Asian cultural family. 3 students were counted as others as they grew up with families out of these two cultures. Reliability of 15 Motivation Subscales Reliability of 12 motivation subscales were found to have Cronbach s Alpha larger than 0.70 while Affiliation, Revitalisation and Health Pressures were lower than 0.7 as shown in Table 2. Health Pressures subscale was deleted as the minimum number of items has to be three. As Revitalisation ( 0.65) and after 1 item in Affiliation was dropped ( 0.77), all subscales coefficient alphas were above accepted levels (i.e., 0.6) as shown in Table 3.

44 30 Table 2 Reliability of 15 motivation subscales Subscale Cronbach's Alpha Number of Questions Stress Management Revitalisation Enjoyment Challenge Social Recognition Affiliation Competition Health Pressures Ill-Health avoidance Positive Health Weight Management Appearance Strength & Endurance Nimbleness Free Usage of Facility

45 31 Table 3 Reliability of 14 motivation subscales Subscale Cronbach's Alpha Number of Questions Stress Management Revitalisation Enjoyment Challenge Social Recognition Affiliation Competition Ill-Health avoidance Positive Health Weight Management Appearance Strength & Endurance Nimbleness Free Usage of Facility

46 32 Description of the 14 Subscales among All Participants Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among All Participants Table 4 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of all participants. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Positive Health (M = 4.27, SD = 0.71) ranked at the top, Strength and Endurance (M = 4.17, SD = 0.69) ranked at the second, Appearance (M = 3.80, SD = 0.90) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.61, SD = 1.01) ranked at the bottom.

47 33 Table 4 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of all participants on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Positive Health Strength & Endurance Enjoyment Revitalisation Appearance Weight Management Stress Management Challenge Ill-Health avoidance Nimbleness Free Usage of Facility Competition Affiliation Social Recognition

48 34 Description of the 14 Subscales among All Male and Female Participants Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among All Male Participants Table 5.1 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of all male participants. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Strength and Endurance (M = 4.29, SD = 0.61) ranked at the top, Positive Health (M = 4.13, SD = 0.75) ranked at the second, Enjoyment (M = 3.79, SD = 0.96) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.84, SD = 1.07) ranked at the bottom.

49 35 Table 5.1 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the male participants on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Strength & Endurance Positive Health Enjoyment Appearance Revitalisation Challenge Stress Management Nimbleness Ill-Health avoidance Competition Free Usage of Facility Weight Management Affiliation Social Recognition

50 36 Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among All Female Participants Table 5.2 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of all female participants. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Positive Health (M = 4.46, SD = 0.61) ranked at the top, Weight Management (M = 4.07, SD = 0.79) ranked at the second, Strength and Endurance (M = 4.03, SD = 0.75) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.38, SD = 0.86) ranked at the bottom.

51 37 Table 5.2 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the female participants on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Positive Health Weight Management Strength & Endurance Enjoyment Revitalisation Appearance Ill-Health avoidance Stress Management Nimbleness Free Usage of Facility Challenge Competition Affiliation Social Recognition

52 38 Ranking of 14 Motivation Subscales, by Gender Table 6 showed the summary of ranking of 14 motivation subscales by Gender. Overall, men and women ranked to gain strength and endurance and to achieve positive health benefits as the most important motivation to exercise in the fitness center. However, men and women revealed a different perspective in weight management that men ranked it near the bottom which is quite unimportant but women ranked it in the second place only after positive health. Both men and women did not go exercise for affiliation and achieving social recognition from peers.

53 39 Table 6 Ranking of Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 Subscale Motives for exercising in fitness center, by Gender Subscales Men Women Appearance 4 6 Affiliation Challenge 6 11 Competition Enjoyment 3 4 Free Usage of Facility Ill-Health Avoidance 9 7 Nimbleness 8 9 Positive Health 2 1 Revitalisation 5 5 Stress Management 7 8 Social Recognition Strength & Endurance 1 3 Weight Management 12 2 Note. Range = 1 (most important) to 12 (least important).

54 40 Description of the 14 Subscales among All Participants of Different Places of Study Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among All Participants Studying in America Table 7.1 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 12 subscales of all participants studying in America. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Positive Health (M = 4.40, SD = 0.78) ranked at the top, Strength and Endurance (M = 4.23, SD = 0.74) ranked at the second, Enjoyment (M = 3.86, SD = 1.02) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.36, SD = 0.99) ranked at the bottom.

55 41 Table 7.1 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of all participants studying in America on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Positive Health Strength & Endurance Enjoyment Revitalisation Stress Management Appearance Ill-Health avoidance Weight Management Nimbleness Challenge Competition Free Usage of Facility Affiliation Social Recognition

56 42 Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among All Participants Studying in Hong Kong Table 7.2 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of all participants studying in America. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Positive Health (M = 4.14, SD = 0.61) ranked at the top, Strength and Endurance (M = 4.11, SD = 0.62) ranked at the second, Appearance (M = 3.74, SD = 0.67) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.92, SD = 0.95) ranked at the bottom.

57 43 Table 7.2 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of all participants studying in Hong Kong on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Positive Health Strength & Endurance Appearance Enjoyment Weight Management Revitalisation Challenge Ill-Health avoidance Nimbleness Stress Management Free Usage of Facility Competition Affiliation Social Recognition

58 44 Description of the 14 Subscales among Male and Female Participants of Different Places of Study. Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among All Male Subjects Studying in America Table 8.1 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of all male participants studying in America. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Strength and Endurance (M = 4.34, SD = 0.71) ranked at the top, Positive Health (M = 4.25, SD = 0.87) ranked at the second, Enjoyment (M = 3.87, SD = 1.16) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.59, SD = 1.11) ranked at the bottom.

59 45 Table 8.1 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the male participants studying in America on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Strength & Endurance Positive Health Enjoyment Revitalisation Competition Challenge Stress Management Appearance Nimbleness Ill-Health avoidance Free Usage of Facility Weight Management Affiliation Social Recognition

60 46 Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among All Male Participants Studying in Hong Kong Table 8.2 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of all male participants studying in Hong Kong. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Strength and Endurance (M = 4.24, SD = 0.53) ranked at the top, Positive Health (M = 4.02, SD = 0.60) ranked at the second, Appearance (M = 3.74, SD = 0.67) ranked at the third, while Affiliation (M = 2.95, SD = 0.81) ranked at the bottom.

61 47 Table 8.2 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the male participants studying in Hong Kong on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Strength & Endurance Positive Health Appearance Enjoyment Challenge Revitalisation Nimbleness Free Usage of Facility Ill-Health avoidance Stress Management Weight Management Competition Social Recognition Affiliation

62 48 Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among All Female Participants Studying in America Table 8.3 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of all female participants studying in America. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Positive Health (M = 4.57, SD = 0.61) ranked at the top, Strength and Endurance (M = 4.12, SD = 0.77) ranked at the second, Weight Management (M = 3.96, SD = 0.86) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.10, SD = 0.76) ranked at the bottom.

63 49 Table 8.3 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the female participants studying in America on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Positive Health Strength & Endurance Weight Management Enjoyment Revitalisation Stress Management Ill-Health avoidance Appearance Free Usage of Facility Nimbleness Challenge Competition Affiliation Social Recognition

64 50 Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among All Female Participants Studying in Hong Kong Table 8.4 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of all female participants studying in Hong Kong. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Positive Health (M = 4.33, SD = 0.60) ranked at the top, Weight Management (M = 4.22, SD = 0.69) ranked at the second, Strength and Endurance (M = 3.92, SD = 0.71) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.71, SD = 0.86) ranked at the bottom.

65 51 Table 8.4 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the female participants studying in Hong Kong on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Positive Health Weight Management Strength & Endurance Enjoyment Appearance Revitalisation Ill-Health avoidance Challenge Stress Management Nimbleness Free Usage of Facility Affiliation Competition Social Recognition

66 52 Ranking of 14 Subscales, by Gender and Places of Study Table 9 showed the summary of the rankings by gender and places of study. This allowed for additional comparison of the different motives. Overall, women study in two different places were more motivated to exercise in fitness center due to positive health, weight management and to gain strength and endurance than to get social recognition from peers. Men study in two different places was more motivated due to gain strength and endurance, for positive health than to get social recognition from peers. While men study in America exercise for enjoyment rather than appearance in which men study in Hong Kong pursuing for the third important reason. Women and men study in different places showed a big difference in weight management as a motivation in which women ranked near the top while men ranked near the bottom.

67 53 Table 9 Ranking of Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 Subscale Motives for exercising in fitness center, by Gender and place of study Subscale America Men Women Total Hong Kong Men Women Total Appearance Affiliation Challenge Competition Enjoyment Free Usage of Facility Ill-Health Avoidance Nimbleness Positive Health Revitalisation Stress Management Social Recognition Strength & Endurance Weight Management Note. Range = 1 (most important) to 12 (least important).

68 54 Description of the 14 Subscales among All Participants in Different Cultural Backgrounds Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among All Participants in American Cultural Background Table 10.1 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of all participants in American cultural backgrounds. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Positive Health (M = 4.36, SD = 0.79) ranked at the top, Strength and Endurance (M = 4.23, SD = 0.74) ranked at the second, Enjoyment (M = 3.89, SD = 1.01) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.32, SD = 0.97) ranked at the bottom.

69 55 Table 10.1 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of all participants in American cultural background on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Positive Health Strength & Endurance Enjoyment Revitalisation Stress Management Appearance Competition Ill-Health avoidance Weight Management Challenge Free Usage of Facility Nimbleness Affiliation Social Recognition

70 56 Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 12 Motivation Subscales among All Participants in Asian Cultural Background Table 10.2 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 12 subscales of all participants in Asian cultural background. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Positive Health (M = 4.22, SD = 0.62) ranked at the top, Strength and Endurance (M = 4.14, SD = 0.62) ranked at the second, Enjoyment (M = 3.74, SD = 0.79) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.88, SD = 0.97) ranked at the bottom.

71 57 Table 10.2 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of all participants in Asian cultural background on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Positive Health Strength & Endurance Enjoyment Appearance Weight Management Revitalisation Challenge Ill-Health avoidance Nimbleness Stress Management Free Usage of Facility Competition Affiliation Social Recognition

72 58 Description of the 14 Subscales among Male and Female Participants in Different Cultural Backgrounds Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among Male Participants in American Cultural Background Table 11.1 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of male participants in American cultural background. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Strength and Endurance (M = 4.32, SD = 0.72) ranked at the top, Positive Health (M = 4.20, SD = 0.92) ranked at the second, Enjoyment (M = 3.89, SD = 1.16) ranked at the third, while Social Recognition (M = 2.53, SD = 1.11) ranked at the bottom.

73 59 Table 11.1 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the male participants in American cultural background on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Strength & Endurance Positive Health Enjoyment Revitalisation Appearance Competition Stress Management Challenge Nimbleness Ill-Health avoidance Free Usage of Facility Weight Management Affiliation Social Recognition

74 60 Mean, Standard Deviation and Rank Orders of the 14 Motivation Subscales among Male Participants in Asian Cultural Background Table 11.2 showed the mean, standard deviation and the ranking of the 14 subscales of male participants in Asian cultural background. The ranking order was descended according to the mean of each subscale. Strength and Endurance (M = 4.26, SD = 0.54) ranked at the top, Positive Health (M = 4.07, SD = 0.61) ranked at the second, Enjoyment (M = 3.73, SD = 0.81) ranked at the third, while Affiliation (M = 2.90, SD = 0.88) ranked at the bottom.

75 61 Table 11.2 Mean, Standard Deviation and Ranking of the male participants in Asian cultural background on the 14 motivation subscales Ranking Mean Std. Deviation Strength & Endurance Positive Health Enjoyment Appearance Challenge Revitalisation Nimbleness Ill-Health avoidance Free Usage of Facility Stress Management Weight Management Competition Social Recognition Affiliation