ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicPhysical Education, Health and Education Innovation-Vol IIIView all 29 articles
University Students' Exercise Intention in the Context of Technology Assistance: Testing an Integrated Model of SDT and TPB
Provisionally accepted
- 1Universiti Malaya Faculty of Education, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 2Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, China
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Abstract Purpose: This study explores the psychological mechanisms underlying university students' intentions to engage in technology-assisted exercise, focusing on campus running applications of university physical exercise management in China. Method: Guided by an integrated Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework, data were collected from 477 undergraduates. Five psychological needs—autonomy, competence, relatedness, novelty, and variety—were examined as predictors of exercise intention, with attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as mediators. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for analysis. Results: Findings showed that basic psychological needs significantly predicted exercise intention. Perceived behavioral control was the strongest mediator, while subjective norms had no significant influence. Discussion/Conclusion: The study highlights the roles of novelty, variety, and perceived control in sustaining motivation, refining SDT–TPB integration and informing the design of digital health interventions for students.
Keywords: Perceived behavior control, Campus running check-in APP, novelty, Variety, Basic psychological need
Received: 06 Sep 2025; Accepted: 29 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 WANG, ALI and BAO. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
JINGYI WANG, 371380444@qq.com
SYED KAMARUZAMAN BIN SYED ALI, syed@um.edu.my
WENTING BAO, wenting@ahtcm.edu.cn
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