Stephen Samendinger received his PhD in kinesiology from Michigan State University. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Masters in nurse anesthesia and practiced as a CRNA and nurse (as well as other clinical and non-clinical roles in healthcare) prior to his focus on studying the psychosocial aspects of physical activity and health.
His research involves studying the effect of group dynamics, self-efficacy, identity/schema and social influence on healthy lifestyles motivation. His projects have included applying group dynamics to partnered exercise, active video games and mobile applications, with real and virtual partners to increase physical activity and enhance health. Other research interests involve understanding differences in motivation by studying how we interpret our social environment and form beliefs and associated conscious and nonconscious goal pursuits. This work also involves examining the role of self-efficacy and cognitive schema in regulating healthy behavior.
Professional Society
North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity
Association for Applied Sport Psychology
American Psychological Association & Division 47 (Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology)
The Society for Personality and Social Psychology
American College of Sports Medicine
Selected Publications
Samendinger, S. & Hill, C.R. (2021). Exercise schema and motivational regulation of college students: A person-centered analysis. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.101921.
Moss, T., Samendinger, S., Kerr, N. L., Cesario, J., Smith, A. L., Johnson, D. J., & Feltz, D. L. (2021). Attenuation of the Köhler Effect in Racially Dissimilar Partnered Exercise Reversed Using Team Identity Strategy. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology,43(2) 105-114. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2020-0085.
Samendinger, S., Bruneau Jr., M., Hill, C.R., & Rowe, T. (2021). Motivation gains in team exergames: Testing the Köhler Discrepancy Effect with a virtual partner. Games for Health Journal, 10(1), 57-62. https://doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2020.0029.
Hill, C. R., Samendinger, S., & Rymal, A.M. (2021). P-Curve Analysis of the Köhler Motivation Gain Effect in Exercise Settings: A Demonstration of a Novel Technique to Estimate Evidential Value Across Multiple Studies. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 55(6), 543-556. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaaa080.
Samendinger, S., Hill, C., Hepler, T.J., & Feltz, D.L. (2019). A clear view of the self-efficacy–performance relationship across 12 cycling sessions: A residualized regression model. Journal of Physical Activity & Health. 16(6): 455-460. https://doi: 10.1123/jpah.2018-0386.
Research Interests
The effect of group dynamics, self-efficacy, identity/schema and social influence on healthy lifestyles motivation
PhD, Kinesiology, concentration Psychosocial Aspects of Physical Activity
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
MS, Nursing, concentration in Anesthesia (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist)
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH