Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Many people prefer a sedentary versus an active lifestyle and have difficulty completing sufficient physical activity to improve health. While exercise can be a powerful reinforcer for some people, many prefer to be sedentary. The relative reinforcing value of physical activity (RRV(PA)) is influenced by a person's learning history with positive experiences strengthening the motivation to be active. Episodic memories may be critical to determining RRV(PA), or RRV of different types of positive behaviors. METHOD: As a potential way to increase RRV(PA) we examined if recalling a positive episodic memory would affect RRV(PA). One hundred and thirty seven adult participants completed measures of reinforcement history and memory functions and then recalled a single positive episode of either a physical activity or of a cognitively enriching activity, rated subjective memory qualities, and completed tasks to measure the RRV of both types of activity. RESULTS: Recalling a positive episodic memory increased RRV for the respective activity, and changes in RRV(PA) were moderated by how much the memory satisfies a basic psychological need. CONCLUSIONS: This research demonstrates the impact of episodic memory on RRV(PA), which could be leveraged to aid behavior change efforts.