Skip to main content

Supporting Users in Setting Effective Goals in Activity Tracking

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Book cover Persuasive Technology (PERSUASIVE 2016)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 9638))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

In this paper we present the development of the pedometer app Move My Day which implements goal setting as its main persuasive design principle. Manual goal input as well as two strategies to support users in setting realistic goals, namely reference routes and personal goal recommendation, were implemented. The proposed algorithm for adaptive personal goal recommendation is designed in a way that it recommends short-term goals considering motivational aspects and gradually raises goals in the long term to meet physical activity recommendations. In a 12 week field study, we investigated the potentials of the two support strategies. Results indicate that about half of the users appreciate goal setting support and that especially personal goal recommendation seems to have potential to support users in setting effective physical activity goals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Locke, E.A., Latham, G.P.: Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. Am. Psychol. 57(9), 705–717 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Saini, P., Lacroix, J.: Self-setting of physical activity goals and effects on perceived difficulty, importance and competence. In: 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology (Persuasive), pp. 33–39. ACM Press, New York (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Hawkins, R.P., Kreuter, M., Resnicow, K., Fishbein, M., Dijkstra, A.: Understanding tailoring in communicating about health. Health Educ. Res. 23(3), 454–466 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. King, A.C., Ahn, D.K., Oliveira, B.M., Atienza, A.A., Castro, C.M., Gardner, C.D.: Promoting physical activity through hand-held computer technology. Am. J. Prev. Med. 34(2), 138–142 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. op den Akker, H., Jones, V.M., Hermens, H.J.: Tailoring real-time physical activity coaching systems: a literature survey and model. User Model. User-Adap. Inter. 24(5), 351–392 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. op den Akker, H., Klaassen, R., op den Akker, R., Jones, V.M.; Hermens, H.J.: Opportunities for smart & tailored activity coaching. In: 26th IEEE International Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems (CBMS), pp. 546–547. IEEE Press (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Consolvo, S., Everitt, K., Smith, I., Landay, J.A.: Design requirements for technologies that encourage physical activity. In: SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), pp. 457–466. ACM Press, New York (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Lin, J.J., Mamykina, L., Lindtner, S., Delajoux, G., Strub, H.B.: Fish’n’Steps: Encouraging physical activity with an interactive computer game. In: Dourish, P., Friday, A. (eds.) UbiComp 2006. LNCS, vol. 4206, pp. 261–278. Springer, Heidelberg (2006)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  9. Consolvo, S., Klasnja, P., McDonald, D.W., Avrahami, D., Froehlich, J., LeGrand, L., Libby, R., Mosher, K., Landay, J.A.: Flowers or a robot army? In: 10th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp), pp. 54–63. ACM Press, New York (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Bickmore, T.W., Caruso, L., Clough-Gorr, K.: Acceptance and usability of a relational agent interface by urban older adults. In: CHI 2005 Extended Abstracts, pp. 1212–1215. ACM Press, New York (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Burns, P., Lueg, C., Berkovsky, S.: Activmon: Encouraging physical activity through ambient social awareness. In: CHI 2012 Extended Abstracts, pp. 2363–2368. ACM Press, New York (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  12. King, A.C., Hekler, E.B., Grieco, L.A., Winter, S.J., Sheats, J.L., Buman, M.P., et al.: Harnessing different motivational frames via mobile phones to promote daily physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior in aging adults. PLoS ONE 8(4), e62613 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Bielik, P.: Personalized training plan recommendation and activity tracking for a healthier lifestyle. Bull. ACM Slovakia 3(4), 39–40 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Buttussi, F., Chittaro, L.: MOPET: A context-aware and user-adaptive wearable system for fitness training. Wearable Comput. Artif. Intell. Healthc. Appl. 42(2), 153–163 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Bravata, D.M., Smith-Spangler, C., Sundaram, V., Gienger, A.L., Lin, N., Lewis, R., Stave, C.D., Olkin, I., Sirard, J.R.: Using pedometers to increase physical activity and improve health: a systematic review. JAMA 298(19), 2296–2304 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kang, M., Marshall, S.J., Barreira, T.V., Lee, J.O.: Effect of pedometer-based physical activity interventions: A meta-analysis. Res. Q. Exerc. Sport 80(3), 648–655 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  17. World Health Organization: Global recommendations on physical activity for health (2010). http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241599979_eng.pdf?ua=1

  18. Choi, B.C.K., Pak, A.W.P., Choi, J.C.L.: Daily step goal of 10,000 steps: A literature review. Clin. Invest. Med. 30(3), 6 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Tudor-Locke, C., Johnson, W.D., Katzmarzyk, P.T.: Accelerometer-determined steps per day in US adults. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 41(7), 1384–1391 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aysegül Dogangün .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this paper

Cite this paper

Herrmanny, K., Ziegler, J., Dogangün, A. (2016). Supporting Users in Setting Effective Goals in Activity Tracking. In: Meschtscherjakov, A., De Ruyter, B., Fuchsberger, V., Murer, M., Tscheligi, M. (eds) Persuasive Technology. PERSUASIVE 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9638. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31510-2_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31510-2_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31509-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31510-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics