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This summer, I had the opportunity to expand on and complete a research project that Dr. Cheryl Stuntz and I began in the fall of 2025. This project aimed to better understand why some people enjoy exercise more than others. Most prior research has looked at the factors that lead to more enjoyable exercise as isolated predictors – our project looked at how these factors interact, taking a more holistic approach that allowed us to see the complexity of individual experiences with exercise.
Data for this project were collected through interviews with St. Lawrence University students in the fall of 2025 and with faculty and staff during the summer of 2026. After crafting the interview questions, I interviewed each participant individually. Each interview was recorded and transcribed, and I used MAXQDA to develop and apply codes to each transcript.
Through careful examination, analysis, and re-examination, four predictors of positive affect during exercise emerged: individual mindset, social context, consistency, and environmental context. These findings provide insights about experiences with exercise that can guide recommendations to individuals to increase long-term exercise participation and enjoyment of exercise. The culmination of this project is a research manuscript that we plan to submit for publication.
I am grateful to have had this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of a topic I’m passionate about and to improve my interviewing and data-analysis skills. I’m looking forward to continuing to sharpen these skills through a new, year-long qualitative project over the course of my senior year.