Effects of Minimal Group Promotion on Cohesion and Exercise Adherence

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Abstract
A large fitness center was used to test a brief group warm-up/cool-down program’s effect on perceptions of cohesion, exercise attendance, and dropout. Healthy adult participants were randomly assigned to a control or treatment condition. Treatment participants differed from controls in that an exercise professional led them in small groups for 5 to 7 minutes, both before and after they completed assigned workout programs, in a separate room. Results indicated a significant rise in the Attraction to Group-Task (ATG-T) subscale of the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) over the first 5 weeks of the investigation, for the treatment group only. Results also demonstrated higher attendance and less dropout in the treatment group. A significant positive relationship between attendance and the treatment group participants’ change in ATG-T over 5 weeks was found. The practicality of providing cohesion-promoting interventions is discussed, and the need to replicate this research in differing exercise settings is emphasized.

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