acta facultatis educationis physicae universitatis comenianae

The subjective exercise experiences and aesthetic activities
5
THE SUBJECTIVE EXERCISE EXPERIENCES
AND AESTHETIC ACTIVITIES
Durdica Miletic
Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Croatia
Summary: The investigation was conducted in order to provide evidence of reliability and
validity of the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale (SEES) and identify the differences in
SEES subscales before and after physical activity in a group of university students involved in
aesthetic (N = 69) and non-aesthetic (N = 67) activities. The internal consistency (Cronbach
alpha coefficient) of the items assigned to each of the three SEES subscales were high and
satisfactory (0.83 to 0.85). According to post-hoc Fisher LSD test, the significant differences
in SEES subscales among groups were found in Fatigue and Positive Well-Being (PWB) and
depended t-test showed significant differences before and after physical activity in PWB only in
aesthetic group. Opposite of the general opinion that male students do not enjoy aesthetic
movement classes, the results suggested that those classes affect them in a positive way. It is
possible that music increased emotionally experienced activity and contributed to better physical
well being. This is the first research that has reported subjective exercise experience effects of
aesthetic activities on male student population.
Key words: well being, male students, PE curriculum
Introduction
Many studies appoint the psychological benefits of exercise (North, McCullagh & Tran,
1990; Plante & Rodine, 1990; Petruzzelo, Landers, Hatfield, Kubitz & Salazar, 1991) and
measures for global psychological responses to the stimulus properties of exercise were
constructed (Mc Auley & Courneya, 1994). However, the influence of various styles of
activities, especially effects of aesthetic activities on male student’s population was not
investigated yet.
The psychological or mental health is generally acknowledged to comprise affective
states or psychological distress (e.g., anxiety, depression, stress-related emotions) and psychological
well being (Stewart & King, 1991; Leight & Tailor, 1990). Well-known measures
for assessing both negative and positive affective states are Profile and Mood States – POMS
designed by McNair, Lor, & Droppleman (1971); the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
– PANAS, investigated by Watson, Clark, & Tellegan (1988); Feeling Scale – FS, by Rejeski,
Best, Griffith & Kenney (1987); and Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale – SEES designed
by Mc Auley & Courneya (1994). The latest measure, Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale
(SEES), was chosen for current investigation because of relative shortness in final version
and the way in which the initial construction of this measurement was made. The first 367
Acta Facultatis Educationis Physicae Universitatis Comenianae LII/I