Differential Effects of Time Constraints on Athletic Behavior and Survey Reports of Athletic Behavior

Time constraints—having more to do than time to do it—can prevent us from doing everything we need and want to do. When lack of time constrains our behavior, the behavior linked to voluntary role identities (like being a member of a softball team or bowling league) may be the first to be cut. Although, as many of these role identities are socially desirable, survey respondents may still claim to have performed them. Thus, this study examines role behavior and its measurement in the face of time constraints. The athlete identity is examined as a potential casualty of the time crunch, used because it is a common, typically voluntary identity that has a relatively standard set of role behaviors (e.g., participating in sporting events, like games or matches, as an athlete). Situational constraints, namely, a lack of time, are brought into a model based on the structure posited in identity theory (Stryker [1980] 2003 Stryker, Sheldon. [1980] 2003. Symbolic Interactionism: A Social Structural Version. Caldwell, NJ: The Blackburn Press. [Google Scholar]) to help explain variation between self-reported and actual role behavior. Thus, the current study examines the extent to which feeling pressed for time reduces actual athletic activity but fails to result in a concomitant reduction in self-reported athletic activity.