hxrefactored - illinois institute of technology - arlen moller
TRANSCRIPT
Theory-guided, Evidence-based Exergame Design: Augmented Fantasy Sports as Case Study
Arlen Moller, Ph.D.
Illinois Institute of Technology
hx refactored conference Brooklyn, NY
May 14th, 2014
Proliferation of AVGs
Explosive growth of active video games (AVGs)
• Console based games
• Wearable trackers
• Mobile Apps Business has been good!
Tests of efficacy have yielded some disappointing findings…
Console based games e.g. Nintendo Wii & Xbox Kinect
• Below min. threshold intensity (Scheer et al., 2013)
• Activity doesn’t generalize (Baranowski et al., 2012)
Mobile apps Conroy et al. (May, 2014) analyzed the 167 most popular fitness apps Only 50% of the apps offered 1 or more evidence based strategies —
- mostly feedback on performance, goal-setting, & social support Conroy’s conclusion: "We're drowning in data points without really capitalizing on them to change behavior more effectively."
Disappointing efficacy findings…
Self-determination theory
• 44+ years of empirical research, 1000+ studies
• Focused on human motivation – Specifically, sustainability & enjoyment
• Edward Deci, Richard Ryan, 100s of others
www.selfdeterminationtheory.org
Self-determination theory
Autonomous Mo*va*on characterized by the experience of voli*on, and endorsement of one’s ac*ons.
Controlled Mo*va*on characterized by the experience of feeling coerced or manipulated.
All Human Mo*va*on (Force + Direc*on)
Self-determination theory
Autonomous Mo*va*on
-‐ enjoyment (intrinsic) -‐ meaningful / value (integrated)
Controlled Mo*va*on –
-‐ Chasing rewards (external) -‐ Avoiding punishments -‐ Chasing others’ approval -‐ Avoiding shame (introjected)
All Human Mo*va*on
**More sustainable; healthier**
How can we increase autonomous motivation for an activity / technology? By supporting 3 basic psychological needs:
1. Autonomy 2. Competence
3. Relatedness
- Feeling a sense of choice & endorsement of what you’re doing
- Feeling a sense of increasing mastery / growth when being challenged
- Feeling a sense of connection with others; supporting & being supported
Psychological need satisfaction in tech-enabled virtual environments
• Both persistence and enjoyment of video game play was predicted by psychological need satisfaction, regardless of specific content, complexity, or genre of games
(Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski, 2006)
• 51% of the variance in video game enjoyment was predicted by psychological need satisfaction (Tamborini et al., 2009)
Key Question for HxR crowd: What would supporting psychological need satisfaction look like in terms of designing technologies to foster healthier behavior?
Specifically, active video games (AVGs)
There are no cookie cuLer solu*ons… but we can s*ll talk about generic strategies for suppor*ng psych. needs
Key Question for HxR crowd: What would supporting psychological need satisfaction look like in terms of designing technologies to foster healthier behavior?
Autonomy Competence Relatedness
Autonomous motivation
(I) Strategies for supporting AUTONOMY with technology
• Building opportunities for choices, customization
- opportunities vs. obligations
- shallow vs. meaningful choices
(I) Strategies for supporting AUTONOMY with technology
• Providing rationale helps people own it
• Providing opportunities for user feedback, value it
• Tie in core aspects of user’s identity – thematically or with identity reflecting avatars
(2) Competence & health technology
• Building opportunities for people to feel optimally challenged, and praised/recognize achievements
- individually calibrating challenge (up and down)
- meaningful feedback / reinforcement - virtual badges, points, etc.
(3) Relatedness & health tech
• Building opportunities for feeling connected to another being: – Real-world friend / coach – Virtual-world friend / coach – A.I. friend / coach – Pets too!
• About both giving & receiving care
• Social-support among most robust ingredients; hi or low tech
Augmented Fantasy Sports: As a Case Study
• Traditional (sedentary) versions of online fantasy sports are staggeringly popular
• >34 million players in North American alone • 19% of adult males in the U.S. played in 2010
• They have proven effective at sustaining engagement
for long periods of time. Why? – Might they support psychological need satisfaction?
Traditional Fantasy Sports: As psych need satisfying
Autonomy – need
abundance of opportunities for choosing to custome rosters linked to a powerful aspect of many people’s identify, i.e., affiliation with their regional sports team
competition with skilled peers is among the best methods of foster optimal challenge perf. feedback is provided daily/weekly/season-levels
Competence – need
Traditional Fantasy Sports: As psych need satisfying
Relatedness – need sat.
Typically, league participants play with people they know, often year-after-year Many report that interaction on message boards is among the most enjoyable aspects of the game
Our “Augmented” Fantasy Sports System
• Combining traditionally sedentary online fantasy sports
with wearable activity tracking technology
Augmented Fantasy Sports: As psych need satisfying
Autonomy –
Let league members vote on physical activity goal setting rules, e.g., maintain vs. increase, rate, consequences, etc.
Individually-calibrated physical activity goals based on baseline-activity Employed handicapping to foster competition between league members of diff. fitness levels
Competence –
Relatedness – Physical activity data were posted twice weekly to message boards, inciting discussion; limited impact of activity of game
Pilot testing aug fantasy sports Summer 2013, 9 participants (M = 34 years) over 13 weeks Key findings: (1) Physical activity increased significantly
- Mean steps/day increased significantly from the 1-week baseline period (M=8,678) compared to the 12-week assessment (M=11,364), t(8)=2.63, p < .05.
a >30% increase in PA
Pilot testing Key findings: (2) Participants rated augmented fantasy sports as significantly more enjoyable than traditional, t(8) = 4.43, p < .01
Self-Determination Theory as flexible framework
Take Home Message
The SDT-derived principle of supporting psychological need satisfaction should be applied flexibly to suit the particular health technology you’re working with… and can complement user-centered design.
Thanks for your attention
Let’s discuss!
Arlen Moller, Ph.D. Illinois Institute of Technology [email protected] @arlenmoller
More on aug. fantasy sports project: http://t.co/NVJjCJCniI
Seeking dev & design partners!
Game Plan
• Challenges facing designers of active video games (AVGs)
• A brief overview of self-determination theory – Psychological need satisfaction & intrinsic motivation – Broadly, how can this inform health & wellness tech design
• Finally, a case study to help illustrate