# PTE HIW #10: Impact of Verbal Encouragement on...

Highlight Incorrect Words #10 - Level 2 - Feeds Reading + Listening

> You will hear a recording. Below is a transcription of the recording. Some words in the transcription differ from what the speaker(s) said. Please click on the words that are different.

Exercising with a partner is a good motivator, but maybe only if your fitness buddy keeps quiet. That's according to research to be published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. For the study, participants had to hold a plank for as long as possible. Some simply did the workout. Others did it with a partner who was on video. They were told the partner was stronger than they were. Past research has shown that a more accomplished workout buddy motivates people to exercise longer. The video partner was silent with some participants, but the partner verbally cheered others. We just want go pop you are. And when their gym buddy told the exercisers to feel the burn, they instead burned out. The researchers believed that the encouragement reduced exercisability because the participant might have interpreted the support as patronizing, or they thought that the gym buddy was really only encouraging him or herself. The research could inform the design of helpful video game workouts and social media tools to help people exercise, because while increased motivation can help physical activity, a lot of yapping may just be sapping.

## Answer

- fitness -> gym
- workout. -> exercise.
- cheered -> encouraged
- reduced -> decreased
- helpful -> effective

## Explanation

The recording differs from the transcript in 5 places: "fitness" should be "gym"; "workout" should be "exercise"; "cheered" should be "encouraged"; "reduced" should be "decreased"; "helpful" should be "effective".

The study found that verbal encouragement from a workout partner actually led to earlier burnout in participants, suggesting that such support may be perceived as patronizing or self-serving.

## Hints

- Focus on the difference between the silent partner condition and the verbally encouraging partner condition.
- Listen carefully to the speaker's conclusion about how the participants reacted to the verbal encouragement.

## Transcript

Exercising with a partner is a good motivator, but maybe only if your gym buddy keeps quiet. That's according to research to be published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. For the study, participants had to hold a plank for as long as possible. Some simply did the exercise. Others did it with a partner who was on video. They were told the partner was stronger than they were. Past research has shown that a more accomplished workout buddy motivates people to exercise longer. The video partner was silent with some participants, but the partner verbally encouraged others. We just want go pop you are. And when their gym buddy told the exercisers to feel the burn, they instead burned out. The researchers believed that the encouragement decreased exercisability because the participant might have interpreted the support as patronizing, or they thought that the gym buddy was really only encouraging him or herself. The research could inform the design of effective video game workouts and social media tools to help people exercise, because while increased motivation can help physical activity, a lot of yapping may just be sapping.

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