Contact Information
Research Areas
Biography
What I Do and Why (I think) It’s Important
I study the kinds of things (e.g., personality) that make people more or less physically active and how physical activity and exercise influences the way people feel (pleasantness, enjoyment) and think. This work also includes working with first responders and tactical athletes (firefighters, police officers, miilitary) to study the effects of physical activity in extreme environments. This work is important because of the mental health issues associated with lack of adequate physical activity and the need to understand how to get people to engage in more physically activity lifestyles.
Research Interests
I direct the Exercise Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. My research is aimed at a more complete understanding of the affective (including anxiety) and cognitive responses to exercise/physical activity, including the pre-to-post exercise changes that take place as well as the in-task changes that occur, along with individual differences that might lead to these changes. This work involves both self-report and psychophysiological and neuroscientific measures (e.g., EEG, HRV, hormones, etc.) to answer the research questions being examined. Ultimately, this research aims to develop a better understanding of how exercise makes people feel in order to structure the exercise stimulus to enhance adherence by either increasing positive or decreasing negative affective responses to the exercise.
Education
|
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION |
DEGREE |
END DATE |
FIELD OF STUDY |
|
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI |
B.A. |
05/1984 |
Psychology |
|
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ |
M.S. |
05/1986 |
Physical Education |
|
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ |
Ph.D. |
05/1991 |
Exercise Science |
Awards and Honors
1995 Named Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine
1999 Undergraduate Faculty Teaching Award, Department of Kinesiology, UIUC
2011, 2013 Undergraduate Teaching Faculty Award, College of Applied Health Sciences, UIUC
2013 Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for Faculty Award, University of Illinois
2016 Graduate Student Mentoring Award, College of Applied Health Sciences, UIUC
2018 Phyllis J. Hill James Scholar Award for Exemplary Mentoring, College of Applied Health Sciences, UIUC
2018 Named Fellow (#578) in the National Academy of Kinesiology
Courses Taught
KIN 340, Social & Psychological Aspects of Physical Activity
KIN 443/PSYC 443, Psychophysiology in Exercise & Sport
Additional Campus Affiliations
Research Scientist, Illinois Fire Service Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Recent Publications
Box, A. G., North, J. R., Whitney, A. J., Newton, E. P., Feito, Y., & Petruzzello, S. J. (2023). Preference and tolerance for high-intensity exercise performance and enjoyment. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 21(2), 360-370. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2022.2057568
Pebole, M. M., Singleton, C. R., Hall, K. S., Petruzzello, S. J., Alston, R. J., & Gobin, R. L. (Accepted/In press). Exercise Preferences among Men Survivors of Sexual Violence by PTSD and Physical Activity Level: Recommendations for Trauma Informed Practice. The Journal of Men's Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/10608265231151248
Greene, D. R., & Petruzzello, S. J. (2022). Working it out: acute exercise to combat anxiety and depressive symptoms in individuals living with subsyndromal post-traumatic stress disorder. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 20(5), 1416-1431. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2021.1979075
Mullin, E. M., Bottino, A., Wadsworth, D. D., Petruzzello, S. J., & Vargas, T. M. (2022). Mental Health and Perceived Stress in Kinesiology Graduate Students. Kinesiology Review, 11(4), 337-342. https://doi.org/10.1123/kr.2022-0020
Pebole, M., Singleton, C., Hall, K., Petruzzello, S., Alston, R., & Gobin, R. (2022). Exercise preferences among women survivors of sexual violence by PTSD and physical activity level: Implications and recommendations for trauma-informed practice. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 23, [100470]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2022.100470