Day 206: One thing I learned today…
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 23% of American adults meet the current recommendations for physical activity. Does the use of a deposit contract help individuals increase daily movement?
My background is in Applied Behavior Analysis. One type of behavior management technique used within this field is a contingency contract. Contracts are developed by the individuals and include introducing antecedents to promote healthy behaviors and consequences to reinforce behavior. In addition, deposit contracts (aka monetary commitment contracts) involve the individual depositing money and earning the deposits back contingent on behavior.
Do you think a deposit contract would benefit you? Would you be willing to deposit a small amount of money daily and once you completed your daily healthy behavior you would get it back? Would you preferred a technology based system vs in person?
A study was conducted reviewing technology based deposits vs in person deposits. Due to convince, the technology based app using PayPal was preferred. Out of 12 participants, 9 completed the 4-week study. Of those who completed the study 77.8% met their weekly goals over the 4 weeks.
Source: Stedman-Falls, L.M. and Dallery, J. (2020), Technology-based versus in-person deposit contract treatments for promoting physical activity. Jnl of Applied Behav Analysis, 53: 1904-1921. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.776
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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