Browsing by Author "Rantakallio, Pekka"

Sedentary behaviour has been found to increase the risk of cancer, coronary heart disease, and mental disorders. It is important to know which factors affect sedentary behaviour in order to motivate people to take care of their psychological as well as physical health by being physically more active. This literature review considers the relationships between physical activity, temperament and personality. The correlative relationships between physical activity and individual differences have been studied quite thoroughly. Out of the five personality traits in the Big Five personality theory extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and emotional stability have been found to correlate with physical activity. In addition to the correlations conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability, and openness to experience have also been found to increase physical activity. Furthermore, the conscientiousness, extraversion, openness to experience, as well as agreeableness of physically more active adults have been found to reduce less over time than on physically less active adults. Additionally, physical activity has been found to increase the persistence and maintain the emotional stability among children. Summarizing, certain personality traits may affect the development of a physically active lifestyle, and physical activity may respectively contribute to the development and stability of personality traits. There is a need to study the relationships between physical activity, temperament and personality since the associations and the causal connections between the phenomena are not yet precisely known. The definitions used in the studies should be unified and the measurement methods and the statistical analyses should be further developed. More longitudinal research should be conducted. Furthermore, studies focusing on the mechanisms between physical activity, temperament and personality are needed. Additionally, it is important to study the differences between different modes of physical activity in terms of how they relate to temperament and personality. These future examinations might be useful for people who design and implement physical activity interventions.