Exploration of the Effects of Positive Emotions and Interpersonal Motivation on Exertion in Dance Training / Arianna Chaya Dunmire (2023)

Objectives: The studies herein explore the effect of positive emotions and interpersonal
motivation on exertion as measured by heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE)
in contemporary dance training. The aim is to explore trends in the data and identify fruitful
directions for future research. Methods: This research comprises of two studies. First, a
field-based, repeated measures trial was conducted with six university dance students who
were divided into two, counter balanced conditions during which they experienced a control
condition (CC), characterized by frontal facings, and an experimental condition (EC), the
same class with communal or partner facings and the directives of smiling at and cheering
on their partner. The 45min session modeled after a dance class consisted of a warm-up,
floorwork practice drill, and phrase. Study two was a qualitative investigation of the
participant’s experiences in study one. One interview and one focus group with a total of four
out of the six participants from study one. Results: study one did not have a sample size
large enough to have statistical power and therefore a case study analysis approach was
used. A few trends were seen in the data: most participants reported higher RPE values in
the EC warm-up compared to the CC, no change was seen in RPE or HR in the high
intensity endurance drill, higher HR during the phrase in the EC was observed, and overall
RPE values (retrospective RPE value) that did not reflect the intensity of the two preceding
sections. Study two used Thematic Analysis to identify five themes that describe the
collective experiences of the participants in the trial: community, exposure, quieting the inner voice, the “little extra thingy”, and encouragement. The use of verbal encouragement and the positive vibes created by smiling and using a high five to switch groups in the EC were cited as very motivating factors and explain the higher HR of the phrase with lower overall RPE scores. Conclusion: study one illuminated the prevalence of individual differences in the
effectiveness of the intervention at eliciting positive emotions as well as the physiological
response to the EC. Study two identified encouragement and the general “positive vibes”
during the EC as the theme that best explains the results from study one as previous
research on verbal encouragement has shown a driving effect on both HR and RPE. The
findings point to many directions for future work on this topic and the potential usefulness of verbal encouragement and communal facings as methods of improving the aerobic training
outcomes of dance class.