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Have you watched a basketball game and had the urge to play? 

This phenomenon of priming plays an important role in how motivated we are to play sports and exercise. The goal of the experiment included finding whether or not participants were primed with a motivational or non-motivational material and observed the effects. People truly are a product of their environments, whether they know it or not.

Priming Effect on Motivational Words 

In the study, “These results indicated that the presentation of an autonomous (relative to controlled and neutral) motivational prime may influence the characteristics of individuals’ exercise goals, at least in terms of intended goal duration” (Magaraggia, Dimmock & Jackson, 2014). The conclusion of the study was that participants exercised longer during each of their workouts. They were driven at the moment and motivated to attain their goal. This study shows that if one prime themselves not only are they motivated but will set long-term goals. With priming individuals with specific characteristics such as listening to the right music, watching the right movies, or even speaking to the right people, they will be more motivated to work towards their goals.

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