Influence of Attentional Association and Dissociation on Affective Responses during Incremental Cycling Ergometry

ACSM Guidelines (8th ed.) call for the use of ratings of affective valence (pleasure-displeasure) as an adjunct method of gauging exercise intensity. Directing one's attention outwards, toward the environment (dissociation), as opposed to inwards, toward the body (association), is known to influence affective valence and is often used as a cognitive technique for ameliorating the discomfort of strenuous exercise. However, the effectiveness of this method across different levels of intensity remains unclear. PURPOSE: Based on the dual-mode theory (Ekkekakis, 2003), it was hypothesized that, during an incremental cycle ergometry test to volitional fatigue, dissociation would be effective in influencing affective valence at intensities proximal to, but not beyond, the ventilatory threshold (VT). METHODS: Sixteen men and 13 women (age: 22.2±3.2 years) underwent three counterbalanced experimental trials one week apart, during which their attentional focus was manipulated: (a) attentional association (Biofeedback, BF), (b) attentional dissociation (Music Television, MTV) and (c) sensory deprivation control (SD). Affective valence was measured every min using the Feeling Scale (FS; Hardy & Rejeski, 1989). The data were reformatted to reflect 8 time points that were metabolically equivalent across participants (the first 2 min, the min before, the min of, and the 2 min after the VT, and the last 2 min of each test). RESULTS: There were no differences in heart rate, O2 uptake, test duration, or perceived exertion across conditions. Self-reported attentional focus was more associative during BF than MTV. The Condition by Time interaction for FS was significant. Consistent with the hypothesis, FS scores remained stable from 1 min before to 1 min after VT during MTV (2.6±1.0 to 2.3±1.6) but declined significantly during BF (2.0±1.3 to 1.5±1.5) and SD (1.7±1.5 to 1.0±1.6). In contrast, the declines in FS did not differ between conditions from VT to max. CONCLUSIONS: Directing one's attention to environmental cues (e.g. music television) may attenuate the decline in pleasure when exercise intensity is proximal to the VT but not when it is higher. Beyond the VT, declines in pleasure reflect mainly increases in physiological variables and are, therefore, unlikely to be significantly affected by cognitive manipulations.