A decision-making perspective on coaching behavior change: a field experiment on promoting exercise at work

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Abstract

We discuss a decision-making perspective on coaching behavior change and report a field experiment following the perspective in which we promoted physical exercises at work using an e-coaching app. More specifically, we investigated what are the important attributes that influence the attractiveness of exercise options, and whether showing an extreme option would nudge users to do more exercises (a.k.a. compromise effect). Seventy participants were coached by the app BeActive! for 10 days to consider taking breaks at work twice a day to do simple exercises. Through choice modeling, it was found that people cared more about whether the exercise options would reduce their productivity at work and whether doing the exercises were socially embarrassing, than the health benefits of the exercise options. The results did not reveal the compromise effect, but rather an effect in the opposite direction, supporting an alternative model that people make decisions hierarchically. Potentials and challenges of taking the decision-making perspective in behavior change research are discussed based on what we learned from the experiment.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPersuasive Technology
Subtitle of host publication13th International Conference, PERSUASIVE 2018, Waterloo, ON, Canada, April 18-19, 2018, Proceedings
EditorsJ. Ham, E. Karapanos, P.P. Morita, C.M. Burns
Place of PublicationDordrecht
PublisherSpringer
Pages87-98
Number of pages12
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-319-78978-1
ISBN (Print)978-3-319-78977-4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2018
Event13th International Conference on Persuasive Technology (PERSUASIVE 2018) - University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
Duration: 18 Apr 201819 Apr 2018
Conference number: 13
http://www.persuasive2018.org/

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume10809 LNCS
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

Conference13th International Conference on Persuasive Technology (PERSUASIVE 2018)
Abbreviated titlePERSUASIVE 2018
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityWaterloo
Period18/04/1819/04/18
Internet address

Keywords

  • Choice architecture
  • Compromise effect
  • E-coaching
  • Option generation
  • Physical activity

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