Regular physical activity and/or exercise confers profound physical and psychological health benefits, yet only around one-third of adults maintain a regular routine. Traditional behavioural interventions grounded in socio-cognitive and dual-process frameworks primarily target transient, state-like variables such as self-efficacy or intentions. Consequently, these approaches often yield limited results due to their implicit assumption of population homogeneity. Personality, characterised by stable and enduring psychological traits, provides a robust foundation for understanding inter-individual heterogeneity in both deliberate and automatic processing. To address the limitations of uniform interventions, this review systematically synthesises the theoretical mechanisms and empirical evidence linking personality to physical activity and/or exercise. Ultimately, this paper aims to construct an integrative, personality-based framework to guide the design and implementation of personalised promotion strategies of physical activity and/or exercise.

Theoretically, personality influences physical activity and/or exercise through four interconnected pathways. First, direct effects shape lifelong behavioural predispositions. Second, indirect effects are mediated by proximal socio-cognitive and motivational states. Third, reactivity processes involve traits moderating how these states translate into action. Finally, dynamic trait activation is triggered by specific situational cues. Empirically, extensive meta-analyses using the Big Five and HEXACO models demonstrate that conscientiousness and extraversion consistently predict higher levels of physical activity and/or exercise, whereas neuroticism acts as a negative predictor. Beyond isolated dimensions, person-centred research and narrower facets (e.g., industriousness, activity, and trait self-control) reveal distinct psychological profiles. Information on these traits can be used for distinguishing "exercise-prone" from "non-exercise-prone" populations, forming the basis for two primary intervention strategies. Personality-targeted interventions amplify intrinsic psychological strengths through mediating pathways. In contrast, personality-tailored interventions deploy compensatory conditions to overcome behavioural friction by leveraging moderating boundaries.

To bridge theory and practice, this review introduces a structured framework for the personality-based promotion of physical activity and/or exercise. The framework encompasses population identification, strategy matching, and dynamic contextual adaptation. The logical starting point lies in precise population identification. This process leverages focused personality assessments alongside advanced analytical tools---including person-centred approach, machine learning, and large language models---to segment target audiences. Following segmentation, the framework directs strategy matching based on an individual's behavioural baseline. Exercise-prone individuals are matched with targeted interventions designed to reinforce supportive socio-cognitive and automatic mechanisms. Conversely, non-exercise-prone individuals receive tailored interventions featuring psychological compensation. Crucially, the framework incorporates dynamic person-situation matching across distinct behavioural stages. It highlights how aligning environmental and situational cues triggers behavioural initiation, while progressively shifting the focus toward internal cognitive-affective consolidation to secure long-term habit maintenance.

To advance the personalised paradigm, future research should expand across four strategic avenues. First, the field must transition from broad, high-level personality domains to narrower traits or domain-specific constructs to resolve conflicting findings and increase predictive precision. Second, researchers should integrate automatic and impulsive processing mechanisms to complement the traditional focus on deliberate, rational cognitive frameworks. Third, longitudinal empirical designs must prioritise adherence and sustainability across the lifespan rather than snapshot measures of cross-sectional physical activity and/or exercise volume. Finally, future work should systematically map specific behaviour change techniques and situational cues to distinct personality profiles. This mapping will enable real-time, just-in-time adaptive interventions that dynamically respond to personality-situation interactions.