Dress for Success: Can Just Dressing for the Gym Help Going to the Gym?

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Healthy
• Interventions: Behavioral: Take and send a selfie; Behavioral: Workout gears; Behavioral: Exercise

• Registration Number: NCT02411045
• Lead Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania

Brief Summary

In this study, the investigators ask the question: can incentivizing smaller, less costly behaviors-like just getting yourself dressed to go to the gym-be more effective (and palatable) than incentivizing the larger goal directly?

Detailed Description

To test this hypothesis, the investigators will randomly assign participants to one of three experimental conditions: (1) control, (2) dress for success (low effort), and (2) exercise for success (high effort). The investigators' hypothesis is that incentivizing a low effort, indirect/workout-related behavior (i.e., "dressing for success") will be more effective in motivating workouts than the control, despite a lack of economic incentive for the workout itself. Additionally, the investigators will compare workout levels for groups 2 and 3; if there is no difference between the two groups (or if 2 has higher exercise rates than 3), this would suggest that indirect incentives may be as effective as direct ones.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2015-04
• Study First Submitted: 2015-04-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2015-04-07
• Study First Posted: 2015-04-08
• Primary Completion: 2015-07
• Study Completion: 2015-07
• Status Verified: 2015-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2015-09-02
• Last Update Posted: 2015-09-04

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1310

Inclusion Criteria

• those who opt-in to the recruitment email to all of the investigators' corporate partner's users.

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Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: FACTORIAL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Group 3: Exercise for Success	Workout gears	Ask participants to take a picture of themselves while wearing their workout gear and complete a 30-minute workout
Group 2: Dress for Success	Workout gears	Ask participants to take a picture of themselves while wearing their workout gear
Group 3: Exercise for Success	Exercise	Ask participants to take a picture of themselves while wearing their workout gear and complete a 30-minute workout
Group 1: Control	Take and send a selfie	Ask participants to take a picture of themselves
Group 2: Dress for Success	Take and send a selfie	Ask participants to take a picture of themselves while wearing their workout gear
Group 3: Exercise for Success	Take and send a selfie	Ask participants to take a picture of themselves while wearing their workout gear and complete a 30-minute workout

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
number of steps taken	1-2 weeks before and after intervention

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Pennsylvania; 🇺🇸 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States