About the PHRESH Lab

Research in the PHRESH Lab

The PsycHology Research on ExerciSe and Health (PHRESH) Lab aims to better understand the role of psychological and contextual factors on the decisions people make about physical activity. To explore decision-making, we use a variety of research methods including the following:

Laboratory-based experiments are studies conducted in controlled settings, allowing researchers to investigate how different psychological states such as fatigue affect people's physical activity decision-making. These experiments help understand the mechanisms and temporal relationships that explain the choices people make in controlled and reproducible settings.

Real-time data capture methods such as Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) help study physical activity decision-making in real-time, real world contexts. By sending brief surveys to people's personal devices throughout the day we can understand their current thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. This can be combined with real-time physical activity tracking through wearable sensors (e.g., accelerometers, commercial activity trackers) to understand real-time influences of physical activity behaviours.