Using Gamification and Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity and Related Social Cognition among Undergraduate Students in Shanghai, China
Gamification and social incentives are promising strategies to increase the effectiveness of web-based physical activity (PA) interventions by improving engagement. In this study, we designed a PA intervention integrating gamification and social incentives based on the most popular social networking...
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doaj-20b203ac9000482fb90cdc13d286a9c92020-11-25T02:14:52ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012019-03-0116585810.3390/ijerph16050858ijerph16050858Using Gamification and Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity and Related Social Cognition among Undergraduate Students in Shanghai, ChinaDandan Mo0Mi Xiang1Mengyun Luo2Yuanyuan Dong3Yue Fang4Shunxing Zhang5Zhiruo Zhang6Huigang Liang7School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, ChinaScarsdale High School, Scarsdale, NY 10583, USASchool of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, ChinaCollege of Business, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USAGamification and social incentives are promising strategies to increase the effectiveness of web-based physical activity (PA) interventions by improving engagement. In this study, we designed a PA intervention integrating gamification and social incentives based on the most popular social networking service in China, WeChat. A controlled trial involving 52 Chinese undergraduate students was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Subjects in the intervention group received a 7-week intervention. PA behavior and related social cognitive variables according to the theory of planned behavior were measured at the baseline and after the intervention. Daily physical activity duration was measured during the intervention. The results showed that PA-related subjective norms, perceived behavior control, and intention, as well as self-reported vigorous physical activity and moderate physical activity in the intervention group, were increased after the intervention, compared with the control group (p <0.05). During the intervention, perceived daily physical activity duration in the intervention group was on the rise, while it declined in the control group (p <0.001). The findings indicate that WeChat-based intervention integrating gamification and social incentives could effectively increase subjectively measured PA and related social cognition among Chinese undergraduate students and that it is a promising way to ameliorate the problem of insufficient PA among youths.http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/5/858physical activitygamificationsocial incentivessocial networking serviceWeChatundergraduate students |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Dandan Mo Mi Xiang Mengyun Luo Yuanyuan Dong Yue Fang Shunxing Zhang Zhiruo Zhang Huigang Liang |
spellingShingle |
Dandan Mo Mi Xiang Mengyun Luo Yuanyuan Dong Yue Fang Shunxing Zhang Zhiruo Zhang Huigang Liang Using Gamification and Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity and Related Social Cognition among Undergraduate Students in Shanghai, China International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health physical activity gamification social incentives social networking service undergraduate students |
author_facet |
Dandan Mo Mi Xiang Mengyun Luo Yuanyuan Dong Yue Fang Shunxing Zhang Zhiruo Zhang Huigang Liang |
author_sort |
Dandan Mo |
title |
Using Gamification and Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity and Related Social Cognition among Undergraduate Students in Shanghai, China |
title_short |
Using Gamification and Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity and Related Social Cognition among Undergraduate Students in Shanghai, China |
title_full |
Using Gamification and Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity and Related Social Cognition among Undergraduate Students in Shanghai, China |
title_fullStr |
Using Gamification and Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity and Related Social Cognition among Undergraduate Students in Shanghai, China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Using Gamification and Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity and Related Social Cognition among Undergraduate Students in Shanghai, China |
title_sort |
using gamification and social incentives to increase physical activity and related social cognition among undergraduate students in shanghai, china |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2019-03-01 |
description |
Gamification and social incentives are promising strategies to increase the effectiveness of web-based physical activity (PA) interventions by improving engagement. In this study, we designed a PA intervention integrating gamification and social incentives based on the most popular social networking service in China, WeChat. A controlled trial involving 52 Chinese undergraduate students was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Subjects in the intervention group received a 7-week intervention. PA behavior and related social cognitive variables according to the theory of planned behavior were measured at the baseline and after the intervention. Daily physical activity duration was measured during the intervention. The results showed that PA-related subjective norms, perceived behavior control, and intention, as well as self-reported vigorous physical activity and moderate physical activity in the intervention group, were increased after the intervention, compared with the control group (p <0.05). During the intervention, perceived daily physical activity duration in the intervention group was on the rise, while it declined in the control group (p <0.001). The findings indicate that WeChat-based intervention integrating gamification and social incentives could effectively increase subjectively measured PA and related social cognition among Chinese undergraduate students and that it is a promising way to ameliorate the problem of insufficient PA among youths. |
topic |
physical activity gamification social incentives social networking service undergraduate students |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/5/858 |
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