Evaluating Mechanisms of Action of Adaptive Goal-Setting for Physical Activity
Completed · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Motivation, Physical Activity Promotion, Behavior Change, Mobile Health
In brief
Behavior modification programs hold promise for increasing levels of physical activity (PA) for individuals who are insufficiently active. However, existing interventions, which typically prescribe uniform PA goals across participants, are limited by their insensitivity to changing individual needs and circumstances over time. An alternative approach is to continuously adjust goal difficulty to match fluctuations in individual performance, or adaptive goal-setting (AGS), which evidence suggests may more effective for increasing PA than non-adaptive approaches. Still, no prior studies have examined the psychological mechanisms targeted by AGS, which limits the ability to further refine and disseminate this technique. In this exploratory study, several candidate mechanisms of AGS (expectancy beliefs about goals, perceived value of goals, affective appraisal of goals, implicit attitudes towards exercise) will be examined. Adult participants interested in increasing their level of physical activity (N = 36) will be randomized to receive 6 weeks of either adaptive goal-setting (AGS) or non-adaptive, static goal-setting (SGS) as part of a remote, low-intensity PA intervention. The primary aim of the study will be to evaluate the hypothesis that AGS, as compared to SGS, results in greater increases over time to four hypothesized psychological mechanisms. The secondary aim will be to evaluate whether post-intervention increases to any among these three mechanisms mediate the relationship between intervention type (AGS vs. SGS) and increases to PA over the course of the intervention.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT04505241
- Run by
- Drexel University
- People needed
- 36
- Starts
- 2020-09-21
- Expected to finish
- 2021-04-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2021-04-13
Who can join
Age: 18 and older, up to 75. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Aged 18-75 years old
- Reporting a desire to increase physical activity in order to lose weight, prevent weight gain or improve physical health
- Possessing a smartphone that can connect to a WiFi (wireless fidelity) network
- Daily access to a WiFi connection
- Ability to understand and provide informed consent
- Proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing English
- Currently report engaging in insufficient levels of physical activity (<150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity)
- Exclusion Criteria;
- Present involvement in another physical activity promotion or a behavioral weight loss program
- Pregnant or planning to become pregnant within the next 6 months (exclude for either)
- Current BMI <18.5 kg/m\^2
- Diagnosis of a medical condition that could limit the ability to increase physical activity
- Acute suicide risk (exclude if present in the past 2 weeks or if any attempts were made in past 2 years)
- Current substance use disorder
- Current diagnosis of psychosis
- Current diagnosis of bipolar disorder
- Currently meet criteria for loss-of-control eating
- Presence of compensatory behaviors (vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, exercise)
Where it is running
- Drexel University — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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