From Union College: Exercise intensity with a live vs. virtual competitor

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22605365

J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2012 Apr;34(2):252-9.

Virtual and live social facilitation while exergaming: competitiveness moderates exercise intensity.

Snyder AL, Anderson-Hanley C, Arciero PJ.

Source

Department of Psychology, Union College, Schenectady, NY.

Abstract

Grounded in social facilitation theory, this study compared the impact on exercise intensity of a virtual versus a live competitor, when riding a virtual reality-enhanced stationary bike ("cybercycle"). It was hypothesized that competitiveness would moderate effects. Twenty-three female college students were exposed to three conditions on a cybercycle: solo training, virtual competitor, and live competitor. After training without a competitor (solo condition for familiarization with equipment), participants competed against a virtual avatar or live rider (random order of presentation). A repeated-measures analysis revealed a significant condition (virtual/live) by competitiveness (high/low) interaction for exercise intensity (watts). More competitive participants exhibited significantly greater exercise intensity when competing against a live versus virtual competitor. The implication is that live competitors can have an added social facilitation effect and influence exerciseintensity, although competitiveness moderates this effect.