Escalating schedules of incentives increase physical activity with no differences between deposit and no‐deposit groups: A systematic replication
A $25 upfront deposit plus climbing cash for steps cuts program cost while keeping adults walking just as much.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Batchelder et al. (2023) asked adults to wear a step counter every day. Each person picked a small deposit ($25) or no-deposit plan. Steps had to rise each week to keep earning bigger cash prizes. If they missed the goal the prize reset to the lowest amount and started climbing again. The team flipped the plan on and off twice to be sure steps really followed the money.
What they found
Most adults walked more when the climbing cash was on. Deposit and no-deposit groups ended with the same step counts. The deposit group cost the researchers less money because some people lost their $25 when they missed goals.
How this fits with other research
Potter et al. (2013) first showed that rising online payments can double steps in sedentary adults. Batchelder moves that idea into everyday community life and still sees gains. Dallery et al. (2008) ran the same deposit-versus-no-deposit test with smokers. They also found equal success but lower cost with deposits. Leigh et al. (2015) proved climbing pay beats flat pay for keeping smokers quit. Batchelder borrows that climbing schedule and applies it to walking. Sathya et al. (2026) looks like a mismatch: they paid smokers either right away or months later and saw no difference. The twist is they still saved money by delaying pay, echoing Batchelder’s cost-saving theme but using a different trick.
Why it matters
You can use a simple reset clause to make physical activity programs cheaper without hurting results. Ask participants to risk a small deposit they can win back with steady step gains. Pair that with weekly rising payouts to keep motivation high. The plan works for typical adults in community settings and may extend to other healthy habits.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Physical inactivity has increasingly affected public health in the United States during the COVID‐19 pandemic as it is associated with chronic diseases such as arthritis, cancer, and heart disease. Contingency management has been shown to increase physical activity. Therefore, the present study sought to evaluate the effects of an escalating schedule of monetary reinforcement with a reset contingency on physical activity, as compared between 2 counterbalanced groups in which a monetary deposit of $25 was either required (deposit group) or not (no‐deposit group). Twenty‐five adults wore Fitbit accelerometers to monitor step counts. An ABA reversal design was used; in the 2 baseline phases, no programmed contingencies were in place for step counts. During intervention, step goals were set using a modified 70th percentile schedule with a 7‐day window: Reaching the first goal would result in $0.25, and incentives increased by $0.25 for each subsequent day in which the goal was met. Failure to reach a goal resulted in a reset of the monetary incentive value to $0.25. Ten out of 12 participants from the deposit group were determined to be responders to intervention, whereas 8 out of 13 participants from the no‐deposit group were determined to be responders to intervention. Overall, there were no significant differences between the groups' step counts. However, the deposit group's intervention was cheaper to implement, which suggests that deposit contracts are a viable modification for physical activity interventions.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2023 · doi:10.1002/jaba.964