EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY. Key Words: proxy agency, exercise leadership, social cognitive theory

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1 EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY JOURNAL OF SPORT & EXERCISE PSYCHOLOGY, 2004, 26, Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. The Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire: Development of an Instrument to Assess Female Exercisers Proxy Efficacy Beliefs in Structured Group Exercise Classes Steven R. Bray 1*, Nancy C. Gyurcsik 2, Kathleen A. Martin Ginis 1, and S. Nicole Culos-Reed 3 1 McMaster University; 2 Kansas State University; 3 University of Calgary The purpose of this study was to develop a measure of proxy efficacy for use in group exercise contexts (e.g., aerobics classes) where participants engage in exercise under the direction of a group exercise leader (e.g., aerobics instructor). Three phases of research are reported. Phase 1 involved group exercisers as active agents in the generating of questionnaire items. In Phase 2, novice exercisers assisted in an item-trimming process and the questionnaire was further refined into a 17-item two-dimensional scale based on preliminary psychometric testing. In the third phase, proxy efficacy beliefs of novice female exercisers (N = 70, average age = years, SD = 5.11) were experimentally manipulated through exposure to different exercise group leadership and choreography styles. Results provide preliminary support for the Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire (PEEQ) as a measure that can provide valid and reliable scores representing women s proxy efficacy beliefs in group exercise settings. Implications for future research in terms of furthering the construct validation process and potential contributions to understanding exercise adherence among novice exercisers are discussed. Key Words: proxy agency, exercise leadership, social cognitive theory One of the major underlying assumptions of social cognitive theory is that people contribute to their effective psychosocial functioning through mechanisms of agency (Bandura, 1997). The theory distinguishes among three modes of agency: personal agency, with self as the agent; collective agency, with a group as the agent; and proxy agency, in which a third party is empowered to act as one s agent (Bandura, 2001a). Efficacy beliefs are the key factors of human agency and are defined by Bandura (1997, p. 3) as capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments. Efficacy beliefs that correspond 1 Dept. of Kinesiology, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON, Canada L8S 4M4; 2 Dept. of Kinesiology and Research and Extension Community Health Institute, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS 66502; 3 Dept. of Kinesiology, Univ. of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4. *Formerly with the University of Lethbridge and the University of Birmingham. 442

2 Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire / 443 to personal, collective, and proxy agency are self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and proxy efficacy, respectively. According to Bandura, although efficacy beliefs can take multiple forms, they should be determined by similar mechanisms and function in similar ways. Considerable research has illustrated the relationships between efficacy beliefs and thoughts, affect, and behavior, and has shown efficacy to be an important target for change in behavior change interventions across a variety of domains including physical activity (see reviews by Bandura, 1997; McAuley & Blissmer, 2000; McAuley & Mihalko, 1998). This research has focused almost exclusively on selfefficacy and collective efficacy, which represent individuals beliefs in their abilities to carry out tasks independently in the former case, and groups shared beliefs in their concerted capabilities in the latter. Until recently, additional forms such as proxy efficacy have been only modestly examined in comparison to the burgeoning literature on self-efficacy (Bandura, 2001a; Gecas, 1989; Zaccaro, 1996). The focus of the present paper is to describe development of a measure that attempts to tap the relatively unexplored construct of proxy efficacy in the physical activity domain. Proxy efficacy has been defined as one s confidence in the skills and abilities of a third party or parties to function effectively on one s behalf (Bray, Gyurcsik, Culos-Reed, Dawson, & Martin, 2001, p. 426). According to Bandura (1997, 2001a), people utilize proxy agents for three main reasons: (a) They have not developed adequate personal means to reach their desired outcomes; (b) they believe the third party can better help them achieve the outcomes; and (c) they do not want the personal responsibility of direct control over possible outcomes. The notion of proxy agency may conjure up negative images of people relinquishing responsibility over their lives when they lack the skills or motivation to take care of matters on their own. However, this form of agency is also considered an adaptive strategy when acquiring new skills or when people find themselves unable to manage aspects of their lives that were once under their personal control (Baltes, 1996). Indeed, proxy agency is often found in situations when a responsible individual transfers partial control to an intermediary who, through both actions and advice, facilitates the attainment of his or her desired outcomes. For example, Christensen, Wiebe, Benotsch, and Lawton (1996) acknowledged the importance of self-efficacy in behavior change, but also pointed out that individuals are more likely to adhere to health related behavior change when they have greater confidence in the expert judgment and actions of their health-care providers (proxy efficacy). Identification of proxy efficacy as a factor in successful adherence is consistent with Bandura s (1997) contention that both proxy efficacy and self-efficacy play a role in successful behavioral adaptation. Proxy efficacy perceptions have been assessed in group exercise (e.g., aerobics) and exercise rehabilitation programs in which participants rely on an exercise leader or consultant to direct their exercise sessions. Results of an initial study by Bray et al. (2001) of healthy college-age exercisers showed that a measure of proxy efficacy was related to exercise self-efficacy and accounted for 12% of the variance in exercise adherence after controlling for self-efficacy beliefs (overall R 2 =.34). However, consistent with theory (Maddux, Brawley, & Boykin, 1995), this effect was only observed for a subsample of exercisers who were novices to group exercise. Unlike experienced exercisers, novices may lack the skills or knowledge needed to develop a strong sense of personal efficacy for exercise, and thus may be more willing to put their confidence in the more knowledgeable resource of the instructor

3 444 / Bray, Gyurcsik, Martin Ginis, and Culos-Reed (Bray et al., 2001). In a more recent study by Bray and Cowan (2004), a measure of the proxy efficacy beliefs of cardiac rehab program participants about their exercise program leader predicted exercise self-efficacy at the end of a 12-week program (R 2 adj. =.40, p <.001), after controlling for program attendance. Proxy efficacy also predicted the strength of participants intentions to exercise regularly during the 3 months following the initial 12-week rehabilitation program (R 2 adj. =.30). Although this initial work on proxy efficacy has shown promise, research has barely scratched the surface of understanding what may be a common and influential perception among individuals who are undergoing behavioral changes such as adopting regular physical activity. One limitation of the work carried out thus far is a lack of established validity and reliability of the measures used in those studies. That is, the existing measures were developed by researchers, based on program manual descriptions of recommended exercise leader behaviors and exercise leaders beliefs about the behaviors their class participants look to them to carry out, rather than proxy actions identified as being specifically important to the exercise participants themselves. Consequently, previous measures may not have adequately captured the skills/actions that participants relied on the exercise leader to provide in group exercise settings. In light of conceptual and measurement problems that have befallen past efficacy research (cf. Bandura, 1997; Maddux, 1995), there is a clear need to focus on careful measurement before beginning a systematic examination of proxy efficacy. Initial findings by Bray et al. (2001) and Bray and Cowan (2004) indicated that proxy efficacy is a salient perception among novice exercisers who engage in exercise programs that are led by an instructor. Thus a carefully executed combination of established qualitative and quantitative methods should yield a valid and reliable tool for assessing proxy efficacy in group exercise programs and enable further research. The general objective of the present study was to develop a measure of proxy efficacy for use in group exercise contexts (i.e., where participants engage in exercise under the direction of a group exercise leader). In pursuit of this overall objective, we report the findings from three phases of the instrument development process for the Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire (PEEQ). Phase 1 engaged group exercise participants as active agents in identifying behaviors they relied on their exercise leader to carry out during classes. In Phase 2, the behaviors identified in Phase 1 were reviewed and a questionnaire consisting of items based on exercisers proxy agency beliefs identified in Phase 1 was constructed and subjected to principalcomponents analysis to detect the underlying component structure. In Phase 3, an experimental manipulation of the group exercise environment was carried out in order to assess the preliminary construct validity of the two-dimensional measure yielded in Phase 2. Phase 1: Item Generation and Content Validity The original proxy efficacy measure used by Bray et al. (2001) consisted of 11 items referring to exercise class participants confidence in the ability of their class instructor to teach, communicate, and motivate. These general capabilities have been identified by national fitness organizations as necessary skills for a fitness class instructor to have (e.g., National Fitness Leadership Advisory Committee

4 Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire / 445 guidelines). The items were derived from open-ended pilot work with experienced fitness class instructors who were asked to indicate the specific components that comprised each general capability. Although the behaviors represented in the original scale were thought to adequately represent those that exercise leaders should demonstrate when instructing classes, no attempt was made to verify that these behaviors were indeed an adequate representation of the behaviors participants looked to their instructor to provide during exercise classes. Thus we sought input from exercise class participants in order to ascertain their beliefs about the behaviors they valued in exercise class instructors. Method Participants. The participants were 40 previously sedentary female undergraduate exercisers who had recently completed one of several 10-week group exercise programs (step aerobics, aerobic dance) at their university. Procedure. Participants completed an open-ended questionnaire in which they were asked to identify and list specific behaviors they relied on their exercise leader to carry out during their group exercise classes. They were encouraged to list as many behaviors as they believed were relevant to their experiences during the classes (i.e., 10 weeks) they had just completed. Results Participants generated a total list of 166 instructor behaviors. Given that most behaviors were identified by multiple respondents, we examined the frequency with which each behavior was listed and saw a clear cutoff point at a frequency of 8, with the next most frequent response at 3. Thus, instructor behaviors that were identified by 8 or more exercisers were retained as potential items for the questionnaire. The frequency analysis yielded a total of 31 instructor behaviors that were deemed usable for constructing an efficacy questionnaire. Phase 2: Content Validity and Item Trimming To examine the content validity of the newly constructed proxy efficacy questionnaire, we followed two procedures. First, the initial battery of 31 items was reviewed by four researchers with extensive experience in the development of efficacy measures in physical activity contexts. They agreed that each item corresponded closely to Bandura s (1997) recommended format for efficacy scales. Second, novice female aerobics class participants (N = 52; M age = years, SD = 11.59) who were enrolled in one of nine aerobics or step aerobics classes then reviewed the questionnaire items. They were asked to identify items that did or did not reflect behaviors they relied on their instructor to perform during their group exercise experiences, as well as redundancy of items and ease of interpretation. All 52 participants agreed that the 31 items were easily interpreted. However, over 75% of the respondents indicated that two items were redundant with other items and that 8 items reflected behavioral content they did not rely on their instructor to provide. The 10 items in question were removed. The next goal was to examine the component structure of the 21-item measure and to trim items if necessary. Consistent with recommendations by Clark and Watson (1995) and

5 446 / Bray, Gyurcsik, Martin Ginis, and Culos-Reed Tabachnick and Fidell (2001), a large sample of novice exercisers (i.e., the target population) was recruited to complete the 21-item measure. Method Participants. Undergraduate students, staff, and faculty (N = 248) who were enrolled in group exercise classes (aerobics, step aerobics) at a large university in the United Kingdom were volunteer participants in the study. Their average age was 27.1 years (SD = 12.31) and, although data were obtained from males as well, due to a heavy gender imbalance the sample used for analyses was composed entirely of females. All participants identified themselves as having been inactive during the 6 months prior to the study and had not previously been involved in group exercise. The exercise classes were either step aerobics or aerobic dance and were offered on a user fee basis, once a week for 10 weeks, by the recreation and leisure services program at the university. There was no academic component to the classes and they were not offered as part of the university academic curriculum. Measures. Participants completed the 21-item instrument. Each item was prefaced with the phrase: My confidence in my exercise instructor (tutor) to do the following over the next month is: Consistent with Bandura s (2001b) recommendations for assessing the strength of efficacy beliefs, for each item the participants indicated their confidence in their instructor s ability on a scale from 0% = not at all confident to 100% = completely confident. For example, participants wrote a number ranging from 0 to 100 in an adjacent space to indicate their percent confidence in their instructor s ability to teach a warm-up that had them breathing moderately hard so they would be prepared for the cardiovascular fitness component of the class. Procedure. Participants were recruited during mass registration for the exercise classes. Eligible participants those who had been inactive during the previous 6 months and who were novices to group exercise were asked to identify themselves to a research assistant who explained the study requirements and asked for their voluntary participation. Volunteer participants were contacted again approximately 3 weeks into their exercise class programs and asked to complete the 21-item measure as part of a larger questionnaire package in the aerobic dance studio prior to their scheduled exercise class. Although many of the initial volunteers were no longer attending their scheduled classes at the time of data collection, we felt it was necessary to allow exercisers three opportunities for exposure with their exercise class leader so that they could acquire an experiential basis upon which to gauge the abilities of the leader. Only those individuals who indicated they had been and were still attending their classes participated in the study. Data were collected in three waves during autumn 2000, winter 2001, and autumn The recruitment and questionnaire administration procedures were identical for each wave of data collection. Results To gain initial insight into the structure of the instrument, we subjected the responses from the 248 completed surveys to a principal-components analysis. Tabachnick and Fidell (2001) indicate that principal-components analysis can be used for three major purposes: (a) to reduce the number of items on a psychometric

6 Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire / 447 test; (b) to describe the relationship among variables; and (c) to test theory about underlying processes. Our goals in the scale development process reflected all three. For the first purpose our interest was to develop a brief measure of proxy efficacy for use in the structured exercise context. For the second and third purposes we wanted to determine whether proxy efficacy scores, as assessed by this battery of items, reflected one or more interpretable latent dimensions. Initial inspection of the scree plot and Eigenvalues showed that three components (Component 1 Eigenvalue = 10.62, Component 2 Eigenvalue = 1.26, Component 3 Eigenvalue = 1.05) could be extracted. The data were subjected to oblique (direct oblimin with Kaiser normalization using SPSS version 11.0) rotation to increase interpretability. The rotation of variables converged in three iterations. Seventeen items produced pattern coefficient values above.53, which Comrey and Lee (1992) indicate are good (see Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001, p. 625). Two items were found to produce pattern coefficients >.40 on two or more components, which indicated variable complexity and an influence of more than one component. Consistent with recommendations by Tabachnick and Fidell, those two items were removed from the analyses. Pattern coefficients for two other items were <.30 on all three components. Again, based on recommendations by Tabachnick and Fidell, who suggested that only variables with loadings of.32 and above are interpreted (p. 625), the latter two items were also discarded from further analyses. The remaining 17 items were reanalyzed and yielded a two-component solution with all 17 items showing good pattern coefficient values for one component or the other. The rotated pattern coefficients from the principal-components analysis as well as the means and standard deviations of the individual items are listed in Table 1. The 17 items of the PEEQ are contained in the Appendix. The 14 items loading on Component 1 were examined for content. Component 1 contained a collection of items representing both instructional behaviors and social-motivational interaction and was labeled instructional-motivational. The three items showing good pattern coefficients on Component 2 all reflected the exercise content of the program sessions being delivered by the exercise leader and were labeled exercise choreography. Internal consistency of each scale was assessed using Cronbach s alpha and both were shown to be adequate using Nunnally s (1978) recommended standards (i.e., instructional-motivational α =.85 and exercise choreography α =.82). The means were (SD = 12.17) and (SD = 15.39) for the instructionalmotivational and exercise choreography scales, respectively. The two components yielded by the oblique solution correlated moderately at r =.55. Scale scores for the instructional-motivational and exercise choreography dimensions also correlated moderately at r(248) =.65, p <.001. Phase 3: Preliminary Construct Validation Via Experimental Manipulation The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of the 17- item, two-dimensional PEEQ. According to Cronbach and Meehl (1955), construct validation is an ongoing process that should involve a variety of experimental and quasi-experimental methods. The method we used was construct validation by manipulating exercise leader behaviors to create extreme groups. Cronbach (1970) indicated that an extreme groups approach allows the researcher to set up

7 448 / Bray, Gyurcsik, Martin Ginis, and Culos-Reed Table 1 Descriptives, Pattern Coefficients, and Associated Eigenvalues for Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire Component 1: Component 2: Item M SD Instructional- Exercise motivational a choreography b Note: N = 248. a Eigenvalue = 8.61; % of variance = b Eigenvalue = 1.17; % of variance = hypotheses regarding the meaning of test scores, stating how high scorers and low scorers are expected to differ, or what influences are expected to alter scores (p. 125). Thus a useful test of construct validity is to examine whether individuals who are exposed to extreme forms of exercise leadership behavior develop stronger and weaker perceptions of proxy efficacy beliefs in ways predicted by efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997). Consistent with the theoretical proposition that past experience is the most potent determinant of efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1997), novice exercisers were given experience with experimentally manipulated exercise leadership behaviors during actual group exercise classes. These manipulations were designed to alter the two types of proxy efficacy captured by the PEEQ and drew upon the exercise leader s behaviors in two ways. First, to manipulate instructional-motivational proxy efficacy, the exercise leader followed a script designed to come across as either highly capable, encouraging, and socially interactive, or as less capable (e.g., only able to provide basic instruction) and socially bland. To manipulate exercise choreography proxy efficacy, the exercise leader followed a scripted set of exercises that were either dynamic and engaging or monotonous and repetitive. In light of previous research indicating exercisers preferences for enriched leadership styles (Fox, Rejeski, & Gauvin, 2000; Martin & Fox, 2001), we hypoth-

8 Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire / 449 esized that participants exposed to a motivationally and instructionally enriched leadership style would report higher scores on the instructional-motivational subscale of the PEEQ compared to exercisers exposed to the instructionally and socially bland leadership style. Participants exposed to the enriched exercise choreography style were expected to score higher than those exposed to the bland exercise choreography on the exercise choreography subscale of the PEEQ. Method Design. The study utilized a randomized 2 2 (Exercise choreography style Leadership style) factorial design in which a manipulation of leadership style (instructionally and motivationally enriched vs. bland) was crossed with a manipulation of exercise choreography style consisting of either a bland or an enriched set of exercises. All participants took part in a single 40-minute session of step aerobics after which their proxy efficacy beliefs about their exercise leader were assessed. Participants. Participants were recruited from large undergraduate classes by trained research assistants who explained the criteria for eligibility and the procedures involved in the study. It was explained that participants must have (a) been inactive during the 6 months prior to the study, (b) had no previous involvement in group exercise such as aerobics, and (c) been interested in becoming regularly active. Potential participants were told they would participate in a 40-min session of moderate (i.e., enough to notice an increase in breathing rate and body temperature) aerobic activity (step aerobics). Participants were offered the incentives of a $5 lunch voucher as well as the opportunity to participate in complimentary step aerobics classes three times a week for the 3 weeks following their experimental session. Seventy female undergraduate students who met the study inclusion criteria volunteered to participate in the study. Their average age was years (SD = 5.11). Measures. Participants completed the 17-item PEEQ. Written instructions on the questionnaire asked them to consider their experience in the session they had just completed and rate their confidence in the capabilities of the exercise leader to carry out the behaviors listed in the following questions during the 3 weeks of exercise sessions being offered as follow-up to this one. Consistent with the original format of the questionnaire and Bandura s (2001b) recommendations for assessing the strength of efficacy beliefs, for each item the participants indicated their confidence in their instructor s ability on a scale of 0% = not at all confident to 100% = completely confident. Interventions. The interventions were delivered by a 22-year-old female exercise leader who was a certified aerobics instructor with several years of experience leading step aerobics classes. Leadership Style Manipulation. The instructionally/motivationally enriched and bland leadership manipulations were based on those reported by Fox et al. (2000). The enriched leadership manipulation was designed to be interactive, encouraging, and energetic and to include general as well as individualized positive feedback and encouragement to participants. The bland leadership manipulation was designed to include only general instruction and feedback of a technical nature and was devoid of encouraging, verbal content on the part of the leader. We embedded specific examples listed by Fox et al. (p. 280) into the respective scripts.

9 450 / Bray, Gyurcsik, Martin Ginis, and Culos-Reed Exercise Choreography Style Manipulation. The enriched exercise choreography consisted of alternating sets of 32-count exercise combinations. Combination 1 contained basic step, V-step, alternating knees up corner-to-corner, and 3-knee repeater step. Combination 2 consisted of V-step, turnstep, alternating kicks corner-to-corner, and L-step. The bland exercise choreography consisted of four exercises carried out in repeating sequence for 2 min each over the 30 minutes. The four exercises were basic run-up, alternating knees up corner-to-corner, V- step, and turnstep. For all four conditions in the design, the manipulations were carefully scripted to be consistent in their delivery across multiple sessions (i.e., 3 sessions of each condition). Procedures. The experiment was carried out in an aerobic dance studio and participants engaged in one of 12 group exercise sessions consisting of 5 to 8 individuals and the exercise leader. Upon arriving at the dance studio, participants were greeted by the experimenter and completed an informed consent form that was approved by an institutional review board for human research, as well as a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q; Thomas, Reading, & Shephard, 1992), to ensure that they were not medically contraindicated for moderately strenuous exercise. Next the experimenter introduced them to the exercise leader who instructed them to take up positions behind standard Reebok 10-cm high (110 cm wide 40 cm deep) aerobics steps. The steps were arranged in two rows of six steps facing a wall of mirrors. The leader s step was centered at the front of the room in front of the mirrored wall. Participants completed one of four scripted step aerobics programs each consisting of a 5-min warm-up, 30-min cardiovascular workout, and a 5-min cooldown. The music selection was held constant across all experimental sessions. Upon completing the 40-min step aerobics session, participants completed a battery of questionnaires including the 17-item PEEQ, were thanked for their participation and dismissed. Results Manipulation Effectiveness. Multiple rehearsal sessions were videotaped and analyzed for content consistent with the intended manipulations. Examination of the last set of videotaped rehearsal sessions and coding of the exercise leader s instructional and motivational behavior showed 96% correspondence with the intended manipulations. Specifically, of the scripted instructor interactions, the instructor s behavior did not match those outlined on the script on six instances across all four sessions. Analyses of the videotaped sessions showed that exercise choreography content was 100% consistent with the designed manipulations. The 12 experimental sessions were also videotaped and subsequently coded by a research assistant who compared the content of each session to its specified script. Examination of those videos again revealed high correspondence with the intended manipulations. For the instructionally/motivationally enriched and choreographically enriched sessions, instructor behaviors and choreographic content matched those specified in the script 92% of the time. Similarly, in the instructionally/motivationally enriched and choreographically bland sessions, instructor behaviors and choreographic content matched the script 92% of the time. For the instructionally/motivationally bland and choreographically enriched sessions, instructor behaviors and choreographic content were 90% consistent with the script. Finally, instructor behaviors and cho-

10 Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire / 451 reographic content in the instructionally/motivationally bland and choreographically bland sessions matched the script in 94% of the instances specified in the script. The majority of inconsistencies between actual and scripted behaviors occurred due to time pressures from participants late arrivals for their sessions, and to efforts to conclude sessions so as to allow sufficient time to complete the study measures. The internal consistency of the instructional-motivational and exercise choreography scales was examined using Cronbach s alpha and found to be excellent, with α =.95 and α =.92, respectively. Two general linear models were computed in order to examine the main and interactive effects of the various manipulations on instructional-motivational and exercise choreography proxy efficacy. Results of the effects of leadership and exercise choreography style manipulations on instructionalmotivational and exercise choreography proxy efficacy are shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. In both cases the results were consistent with the hypotheses. In the first general linear model, there was a significant main effect for leadership style on instructional-motivational proxy efficacy, F(1, 66) = 15.29, p <.001, η 2 =.19, with marginal means of (SD = 8.77) and (SD = 20.12) for the enriched and bland leadership styles, respectively. The main effect for exercise choreography style and the Exercise Choreography style Leadership style interaction were both nonsignificant, p >.10. In the second model, there was a significant main effect for exercise choreography style on exercise choreography proxy efficacy, F(1, 66) = 4.93, p <.05, η 2 =.07, with marginal means of (SD = 11.62) and (SD = 19.91) for the enriched and bland styles, respectively. Neither the main effect for leadership style nor the Exercise Choreography style Leadership style interaction were significant, p >.10. General Discussion The general purpose of the present study was to develop a measure of proxy efficacy for use in group exercise contexts (aerobics, step aerobics) where participants engage in exercise under the direction of a group exercise leader (e.g., aerobics Figure 1 Effects of leadership style and exercise choreography style manipulations on instructional-motivational proxy efficacy.

11 452 / Bray, Gyurcsik, Martin Ginis, and Culos-Reed Figure 2 Effects of leadership style and exercise choreography style manipulations on exercise choreography proxy efficacy. instructor). Empirically, the study took the form of a three-phase measurement development process that incorporated novice group exercisers as active agents contributing to item generation and item trimming for the questionnaire. Principalcomponents analyses and a randomized controlled experiment, again involving novice exercisers, were used for construct validation. Collectively, the findings support the content and construct validity as well as the internal consistency of the PEEQ. Although preliminary research has been carried out examining proxy efficacy beliefs in group exercise settings (Bray et al., 2001), the instrument used to assess proxy efficacy in that study had not been systematically validated. Novice exercisers took part in the present study as active agents and identified 31 specific behaviors they relied on their exercise leader to demonstrate during exercise sessions. When reviewed by an independent group of novice exercisers, several of those initial items were judged to be redundant or inappropriate by the majority and were therefore removed. Given that proxy efficacy beliefs refer to behaviors that one individual relies on another (proxy agent) to carry out on his or her behalf (Bray et al., 2001), the active role played by exercisers themselves in the development of this measure should be reflected in a high level of content validity in the PEEQ items. It is interesting to note, however, that of the 11 items from the original Bray et al. proxy efficacy questionnaire and the 17 items from the PEEQ developed in the present study, 8 of them (i.e., Items 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, and 16) are basically the same. All 8 items are represented on the instructional-motivational subscale while the exercise choreography scale consists of all newly developed items. The scores produced by the PEEQ were also found to provide good evidence of reliability. Reliability can be assessed through stability of scores over time (i.e., test-retest), using alternate forms and internal consistency. The internal consistency of the PEEQ was examined because efficacy beliefs are situationally determined and dynamic (Bandura, 1997). Results of studies in Phases 2 and 3 produced Cronbach alphas that were excellent for both the instructional-motivational and exercise choreography subscales of the PEEQ in both field and experimental settings (all α s greater than 0.80).

12 Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire / 453 Initial evidence supporting the construct validity of the two dimensions of the PEEQ was provided experimentally. According to Bandura (1986, 1997), the most potent sources of efficacy expectation information are one s direct personal experiences. The manipulations of the exercise leader environment were carefully scripted in order to systematically vary the exposure of exercise participants to enriched or bland leader behaviors and exercise choreography. Consistent with efficacy theory, these manipulations of participants personal exercise experiences were effective in shaping their proxy efficacy beliefs about the instructional-motivational and exercise choreography programming capabilities of their exercise leader. Although the preliminary findings presented in this paper provide support for the reliability and validity of the PEEQ, a number of limitations should be noted. The first is that participants involved in the development of the PEEQ were young (i.e., college age) healthy women. This limitation reflects the fact that the samples utilized in Phases 1 and 2 of the study were drawn from group exercise classes actually taking place in university settings. From our experience and previously published research with group exercise participants involved in exercise-to-music classes such as step aerobics (e.g., Dawson, Brawley, & Maddux, 2000), the gender composition is typically heavily biased toward women. Male participants may not rely on the exercise leader to carry out the same proxy behaviors as those identified by females; therefore, future research using the PEEQ should be cautiously constrained to female participants and further measurement development could focus on male group exercise participants. The composition of the samples in the present research also limits the generalizability of the findings and use of the PEEQ for investigations of proxy efficacy beliefs in other group exercise contexts. For example, instructor-led group exercise classes are also popular among older adults and are often used in specialized contexts such as cardiac rehabilitation. It would be hazardous to assume that young asymptomatic women rely on their exercise leader to carry out the same exercise leadership behaviors as healthy older adults or those recovering from illness. In a recent pilot study examining proxy efficacy in a nongroup-based cardiac rehab setting, Bray and Cowan (2004) developed a set of items reflecting older adults beliefs about their exercise consultant s capabilities. Several of the items developed for that measure were not part of the PEEQ and reflected needs specific to the cardiac rehab population. Given the domain specificity of efficacy beliefs as proposed by Bandura (1997), it is recommended that future research examining proxy efficacy among older adults and special populations invest effort and time toward developing specialized instruments that are valid and reliable for the populations of interest. Despite the caveats around design limitations, the present study has provided a useful starting point in terms of developing a reliable and valid measurement tool for future research examining proxy efficacy in group exercise settings. It is widely acknowledged that adherence to physical activity is problematic (Dishman, 1988; U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2000) and that over half of novice exercisers, like those who participated in the current research, fail to maintain regular involvement in physical activity past their first 6 months. Although many factors may contribute to adherence or nonadherence to exercise (Sallis & Owen, 1999), there are some relatively unexplored social-cognitive factors such as proxy efficacy that may contribute to our understanding of adherence (Baranowski, Anderson, & Carmack, 1998).

13 454 / Bray, Gyurcsik, Martin Ginis, and Culos-Reed Bandura (1997) contends that people who have strong proxy efficacy beliefs should have more personal resources available to devote toward developing their personal efficacy, and that proxy efficacy and self-efficacy combine or interact to influence behavioral adaptation. Consistent with this contention, Bray et al. s (2001) recent research provided a preliminary indication that instructional-motivational proxy efficacy may play a role in developing self-efficacy beliefs for exercise. Furthermore, that research found that a combination of self-efficacy and proxy efficacy accounted for 34% of the variance in exercise behavior among novice exercisers. Given the promising results thus far, research should move forward to examine the two dimensions of proxy efficacy beliefs for group exercise that are tapped by the PEEQ and which explore the relationship of these variables to self-efficacy and exercise adherence. References Baltes, M.M. (1996). The many faces of dependency in old age. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. New York: Prentice Hall. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman. Bandura, A. (2001a). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, Bandura, A. (2001b). Guidelines for constructing self-efficacy scales. Retrieved from http: // Sept. 5, Baranowski, T., Anderson, C., & Carmack, C. (1998). Mediating variable framework in physical activity interventions. How are we doing? How might we do better? American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 15, Bray, S.R., & Cowan, H. (2004). Proxy efficacy: Implications for self-efficacy and exercise intentions in cardiac rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Psychology, 49, Bray, S.R., Gyurcsik, N.C., Culos-Reed, S.N., Dawson, K.A., & Martin, K.A. (2001). An exploratory investigation of the relationship between proxy efficacy, self-efficacy and exercise attendance. Journal of Health Psychology, 6, Christensen, A.J., Wiebe, J.S., Benotsch, E.G., & Lawton, W.J. (1996). Perceived health competence, health locus of control, and patient adherence in renal dialysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 20, Clark, L.A., & Watson, D. (1995). Constructing validity: Basic issues in objective scale development. Psychological Assessment, 7, Comrey, A.L., & Lee, H.B. (1992). A first course in factor analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Cronbach, L.J. (1970). Essentials of psychological testing. New York: Harper & Row. Cronbach, L.J., & Meehl, P.E. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychological Bulletin, 52, Dawson, K.A., Brawley, L.R., & Maddux, J.E. (2000). Examining the relationships among concepts of control and exercise attendance. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 22, Dishman, R.K. (Ed.) (1988). Exercise adherence: Its impact on public health. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Fox, L.D., Rejeski, W.J., & Gauvin, L. (2000). Effects of leadership style and group dynamics on enjoyment of physical activity. American Journal of Health Promotion, 14,

14 Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire / 455 Gecas, V. (1989). The social psychology of self-efficacy. Annual Review of Sociology, 15, Maddux, J.E. (1995). Self-efficacy theory: An introduction. In J.E. Maddux (Ed.), Selfefficacy, adaptation, and adjustment: Theory, research, and application (pp. 3-33). New York: Plenum. Maddux, J.E., Brawley, L.R., & Boykin, A. (1995). Self-efficacy and healthy behavior: Prevention, promotion, and detection. In J.E. Maddux (Ed.), Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment: Theory, research, and application (pp ). New York: Plenum. Martin, K.A., & Fox, L.D. (2001). Group and leadership effects on social anxiety experienced during an exercise class. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 31, McAuley, E., & Mihalko, S.L. (1998). Measuring exercise-related self-efficacy. In J.L. Duda (Ed.), Advances in sport and exercise psychology measurement (pp ). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology. McAuley, E., & Blissmer, B. (2000). Self-efficacy determinants and consequences of physical activity. Exercise and Sports Sciences Reviews, 28, Nunnally, J.C. (1978). Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill. Sallis, J.F., & Owen, N. (1999). Physical activity and behavioral medicine. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Thomas, S., Reading, J., & Shephard, R.J. (1992). Revision of the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). Canadian Journal of Sports Sciences, 17, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. (2000). Healthy People 2010: Understanding and improving health. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Gov. Printing Office. (Stock No ) Zaccaro, S.J. (1996, Oct.). Social contextual considerations of efficacy beliefs: Defining multiple forms of social efficacy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology, Williamsburg, VA. Appendix Items in the Proxy Efficacy Exercise Questionnaire My confidence in my exercise leader s capabilities to do the following over the next (month) is: Exercise Choreography Proxy Efficacy 1. Include a variety of exercises/moves during classes. 2. Incorporate new moves in classes. 3. Vary the routines from class to class. Instructional-Motivational Proxy Efficacy 4. Teach a cooldown so that I am breathing at the same rate as when I began my class. 5. Teach class so that my heart rate is in my exercising/workout target zone. (continued)

15 456 / Bray, Gyurcsik, Martin Ginis, and Culos-Reed Appendix (Cont.) 6. Motivate me to keep the proper intensity by doing all the exercises her/ himself. 7. Teach a warm-up that has me breathing moderately hard so that I am prepared for the cardio part of my class. 8. Clearly explain/break down the moves. 9. Teach a cooldown that has stretches for major muscle groups (e.g., front and back of legs and arms, upper and lower back, etc.). 10. Teach the cardiovascular part of class so that I am breathing hard continuously. 11. Motivate through verbal comments to keep the proper intensity for all exercises. 12. Provide appropriate/timely verbal cues. 13. Provide easy-to-follow instructions during class. 14. Provide instruction to class members if they don t know how to do a move. 15. Provide verbal cues (e.g., counts down) that warn ahead of time about upcoming moves. 16. Provide music that is the right tempo for the warm-up, cardio, and cooldown parts of the class. 17. Give verbal praise for good effort throughout the class. Acknowledgment The work presented in Phase 2 was supported by a research grant (SG-31429) awarded to Steven R. Bray by The British Academy. The work presented in Phase 3 was supported by a research grant awarded to Steven R. Bray by the University of Lethbridge Research Fund. Manuscript submitted: June 3, 2003 Revision accepted: February 11, 2004