How Avatar Representations Impact Willingness for Health-Habit Changes
Abstract: This study examines how adding avatars, personal visual representations of the user, on online forms impacts self-reported willingness for behavioral change, when considering health habits. Avatars are a gamification element proposed to have a positive impact on behavioral change. No earlier research has examined the distinction between the effects of the contemplation that occurs when acquiring an avatar and those of the actual avatar. This distinction was explored with a randomly controlled trial in the form of three questionnaires (pretest, self-reflection, posttest), distributed to a control group and an intervention group. 37 participants (20 women, 17 men, M = 33.4 years, age span 29–38 years) completed the study. The pretest consisted of questions about their current health situation, followed by the self-reflection task. The posttest measured the outcome variable: ”How willing are you to make a change in your everyday life in order to improve or maintain your general health?”. For the intervention group, the self- reflection and posttest were accompanied by an avatar. The results were analysed with a Mann- Whitney’s U-test, which showed that the avatar groups' self-reported willingness for behavioral change was higher compared to the control group. The effect was statistically significant. We discuss the applications and practical and ethical implications of avatars for increasing motivation. Further research should be done to replicate these findings to further examine the mechanics of the avatar representation.
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