The impact of action observation on the intention for action engagement

ABSTRACT

Based on the embodiment theory of action and the shared neural networks between action execution and action observation, we investigate how an acute bout of exercise and action observation might differently modulate proneness for exercise. We used a visual analog scale to assess proneness for exercise and collected salivary cortisol pre and post conditions to investigate if cortisol secretion subtends proneness for exercise derived from seeing and doing. Thirty University students (16 Active and 14 Sedentary) volunteered to participate in all 3 conditions (Control; Action Execution; and Action Observation). Crucially, we find that the mere observation of action leads to a greater enhancement of proneness for exercise when compared to action execution. Increased proneness for exercise, however, is not associated with higher cortisol secretion linked to cortical motor activity brought about by embodiment. We suggest that the decisional motivation process is cognitive and top-down and not bottom-up as embodiment theories would suggest. Moreover, we did not find any difference between active and sedentary participants in cortisol secretion across conditions, suggesting a complex interaction between intensity and chronicity on perceived exertion and cortisol secretion. Crucially, our findings contribute to further our understanding of the mechanisms of exercise engagement.

KEYWORDS:

• Action observation
• acute bouts of exercise
• proneness for exercise
• salivary cortisol

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the kind participation of all the volunteers in this research. Finally, we would like to thank Maria do Carmo Vasconcelos for her dedication during the data collection phase and Duarte Araújo for his generous suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval

Approval was obtained from the Local University Ethics Committee. The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Data sharing policy

The raw data are available in the Open Science Framework (OSF) repository at DOI:10.17605/OSF.IO/DVQXZ and can be accessed via this link https://osf.io/dvqxz/?view_only=c158a52f4d0e435a92ad95fa7faf0ef2.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UIDB/04279/2020 to AMA and partly funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia [grant number UIDB/00447/2020] attributed to CIPER – Centro Interdisciplinar para o Estudo da Performance Humana (unit 447).