What is it about?

A fundamental observation from the literature on reward processing is that the pleasure response is not solely based on the intrinsic value of the reward but is also largely influenced by the discrepancy between what we anticipate and what we actually receive, that is, a reward prediction error. This study aimed to test whether reward prediction error, often tested on short acting stimuli, also apply to long lasting episodes, like a session of physical exercise. In other words, could the pleasure experienced during physical exercise be based on the session going better than predicted?

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Why is it important?

We observed that the rewarding aspect of physical exercise can be based on the session being less effortful than predicted. This finding should initiate new lines of research to offer fine-grained insight into the hedonic component of physical exercise. This innovative research direction could ultimately lead people to better integrate physical exercise in their daily life.

Perspectives

It is important for us to acknowledge that our study is the first Stage 2 registered report published in "Sport, Exercise, & Performance Psychology" (SEPP). Specifically, our study has been recommended by Peer Community In Registered Reports (PCI RR; (https://rr.peercommunityin.org/articles/rec?id=771) and adheres to the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines, including open data, open materials, and pre-registration of hypothesis and analyses plan. On a personal level, our publishing experience in PCI RR and SEPP was fantastic. The reviewing process is not something to be "afraid" of anymore, but rather a phase of improvement of your planned study protocol. Moreover, one revolution of PCI RR that it is now Editors (in this case Mark Beauchamp of SEPP) who contact you to publish your paper (as a "PCI RR-friendly journal"; see https://rr.peercommunityin.org/about/pci_rr_friendly_journals). These aspects are of key importance as they should allow researchers to (further) adopt slow science practices in their research.

Damien Brevers
UCLouvain

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This page is a summary of: Do prediction errors of perceived exertion inform the level of running pleasure?, Sport Exercise and Performance Psychology, August 2024, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/spy0000362.
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