Physical Activity Incentives

NCT03037658 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: IRB-28280
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 450
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

In this study, the investigators will test responsiveness of young, middle-aged, and older adults to a range of incentives, some of which provide rewards for the individual participants and others that offer rewards to other people or groups. The investigators hypothesize that incentives are differentially effective for different age groups.

Conditions

Physical Activity

Keywords

physical activity; walking; incentive; step count

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in average steps per day

  Difference in average steps per day (from baseline week to incentive week)

  Step count is measured via pedometer every day for three weeks

Study Arms (5)

Personal - self

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants had the opportunity to earn money for themselves by increasing their average steps per day.

Other: Offering a financial incentive to increase walking

Prosocial - loved one

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants had the opportunity to earn money for a loved one of their choice by increasing their average steps per day.

Other: Offering a financial incentive to increase walking

Prosocial - charity

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants had the opportunity to earn money for a charity of their choice by increasing their average steps per day.

Other: Offering a financial incentive to increase walking

Choice

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants were given the choice to earn money either for themselves, a loved one, or a charity by increasing their average steps per day.

Other: Offering a financial incentive to increase walking

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants were not offered a financial incentive to increase their average steps per day. They simply wore the pedometer for three weeks.

Interventions

Offering a financial incentive to increase walking OTHER

After a baseline week of walking while wearing a pedometer, participants will be randomly assigned to one of the five conditions. In each of these conditions, participants will have the chance to earn .02/step for each additional step per day (on average across the week, above baseline levels). After a week of incentivized walking, participants will again be asked to wear the pedometer for one final week (with no incentive). Because the investigators need a week of walking before the incentive week, it is important that participants do not know the specific incentive aspect at the beginning of the study. Therefore, the investigators will not disclose the incentive structure at the beginning of the study. The investigators will debrief participants at the end of the study, and they will be fully informed of the purposes of the study at that time.

Choice; Personal - self; Prosocial - charity; Prosocial - loved one

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adults aged 18 and older are being targeted. We aim to recruit equal numbers of men and women, but this is not a specific target. There are no racial or ethnic targets.
• Individuals who pass a phone screening that includes physical (PAR-Q) and cognitive (MMSE) measures are eligible for this study. These individuals must either answer "no" to all the questions on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) or receive verbal permission from their doctor. Additionally, they must also show no signs of cognitive impairment as indicated by scores greater than or equal to 23 points on the 26-point Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

You may not qualify if:

• We will not recruit minors (17 or younger) because this is a study of adult development.
• Individuals who answered "yes" on any questions of the PAR-Q and/or received a score less than or equal to 22 on the MMSE.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Stanford University: lead
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Life-span Development Lab

Stanford, California, 94305, United States

Location

Related Publications (8)

• Carstensen LL. The influence of a sense of time on human development. Science. 2006 Jun 30;312(5782):1913-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1127488.

  PMID: 16809530 BACKGROUND

• Lockenhoff CE, Carstensen LL. Aging, emotion, and health-related decision strategies: motivational manipulations can reduce age differences. Psychol Aging. 2007 Mar;22(1):134-146. doi: 10.1037/0882-7974.22.1.134.

  PMID: 17385990 BACKGROUND

• Mikels JA, Lockenhoff CE, Maglio SJ, Goldstein MK, Garber A, Carstensen LL. Following your heart or your head: focusing on emotions versus information differentially influences the decisions of younger and older adults. J Exp Psychol Appl. 2010 Mar;16(1):87-95. doi: 10.1037/a0018500.

  PMID: 20350046 BACKGROUND

• Notthoff N, Carstensen LL. Positive messaging promotes walking in older adults. Psychol Aging. 2014 Jun;29(2):329-341. doi: 10.1037/a0036748.

  PMID: 24956001 BACKGROUND

• Anik L, Aknin LB, Norton MI, Dunn EW, Quoidbach J. Prosocial bonuses increase employee satisfaction and team performance. PLoS One. 2013 Sep 18;8(9):e75509. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075509. eCollection 2013.

  PMID: 24058691 BACKGROUND

• Dunn EW, Aknin LB, Norton MI. Spending money on others promotes happiness. Science. 2008 Mar 21;319(5870):1687-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1150952.

  PMID: 18356530 BACKGROUND

• Scott A, Schurer S. Financial incentives, personal responsibility and prevention. Discussion paper comissioned by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission. 2008. Retrieved from: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/nhhrc/publishing.nsf/Content/discussion-papers

  BACKGROUND

• Raposo S, Hogan CL, Barnes JT, Chemudupati T, Carstensen LL. Leveraging goals to incentivize healthful behaviors across adulthood. Psychol Aging. 2021 Feb;36(1):57-68. doi: 10.1037/pag0000428. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

  PMID: 32628030 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Laura L Carstensen, PhD

  Stanford University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor of Psychology and the Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Professor in Public Policy, Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 27, 2017
• First Posted: January 31, 2017
• Study Start: September 1, 2013
• Primary Completion: March 1, 2017
• Study Completion: March 1, 2017
• Last Updated: April 24, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share

Locations

US (1)