Leveraging goals to incentivize healthful behaviors across adulthood

Abstract

Despite abundant evidence for the benefits of physical activity on aging trajectories, older Americans remain largely inactive. The present study was designed to examine age differences in responsiveness to financial incentives to increase walking. Grounded in socioemotional selectivity theory, we examined the effectiveness of financial incentives that varied in prosociality. Three types of incentives were presented to community-residing adults 18-92 years of age (N = 450). Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 conditions: personal, loved one, charity, choice, or a no-incentive control group. Average daily step counts were measured using pedometers during a baseline week, during the incentivized period, and after the incentivized period ended. Overall, financial incentives significantly increased walking compared to a control group. Whereas personal incentives were effective regardless of age, incentives to earn for charities were starkly more effective in older adults than younger adults. Moreover, 1 week after the incentivized period ended, older participants were more likely to maintain increased step counts, whereas younger people reverted to baseline step counts. Findings suggest that financial incentives can increase walking in a wide age range and that charitable incentives may be especially effective in health interventions targeting older adults. The importance of aligning incentives with age-related goals is discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03037658.

Figure 1.

Step count change while incentives were in place (vs. baseline) by incentive type and age (N = 450). For ease of interpretation, change scores were calculated by subtracting average daily step counts during the incentivized week from baseline counts. Shaded regions represent +/− 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 2.

Scatterplot depicting effects of age and condition on step count change while incentives were in place (N = 450). Each point represents one participant. For ease of interpretation, change scores were calculated by subtracting average daily step counts during the incentivized week from baseline counts.

Figure 3.

Step count change when incentives were no longer offered (vs. baseline) by incentive type and age (N = 450). For ease of interpretation, change scores were calculated by subtracting average daily step counts during the post-incentive period from baseline counts. Shaded regions represent +/− 95% confidence intervals.