Preliminary efficacy of prize-based contingency management to increase activity levels in healthy adults.
Prize draws can boost steps, but only for some adults unless you add feedback and praise.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Eleven healthy adults wore a step counter every day.
Each person got a secret step goal set at the 60th percentile of their own past week.
If they beat the goal they drew from a bag for small prizes like gift cards.
The researchers turned the prizes on and off in an ABAB design to see if steps changed.
What they found
Only four of the eleven adults walked more when prizes were available.
Those four took more total steps and had longer active bursts.
The other seven showed no clear change.
In short, the lottery helped a few people, but most were not moved.
How this fits with other research
Wine et al. (2017) tried the same lottery trick with adults in a day program who had developmental disabilities.
Three of their four participants jumped to double their steps, a much bigger win.
The difference: the 2017 group got daily feedback and social praise along with the draw, while the 2014 study used only the prize.
Winterling et al. (1992) showed that gradually raising a bike-ride goal works for kids, hinting that percentile goals can shape exercise when paired with clear feedback.
Why it matters
If you run a health program, do not rely on prize draws alone.
Add daily feedback, praise, or visible charts before you call the intervention a fail.
The same lottery that looks weak in healthy office staff can shine when clients also see their numbers and get cheerleading from you.
Test for responders after one week; if steps climb, keep it—if not, layer in more supports.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
An estimated 30% of Americans meet the criteria for obesity. Effective, low-cost interventions to increase physical activity are needed to prevent and treat obesity. In this study, 11 healthy adults wore Fitbit accelerometers for 3 weeks. During the initial baseline, subjects earned prize draws for wearing the Fitbit. During intervention, percentile schedules were used to calculate individual prize-draw criteria. The final week was a return to baseline. Four subjects increased step counts as a result of the intervention. A bout analysis of interresponse times revealed that subjects increased overall step counts by increasing daily minutes active and within-bout response rates and decreasing pauses between bouts of activity. Strategies to improve effectiveness are suggested, such as modification of reinforcement probability and amount and identification of the function of periods of inactivity.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2014 · doi:10.1002/jaba.119