Abstract
BackgroundSelf-focused augmented reality (AR) technologies are growing in popularity and present an opportunity to address health communication and behavior change challenges.ObjectiveWe aimed to examine the impact of self-focused AR and vicarious reinforcement on psychological predictors of behavior change during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, our study included measures of fear and message minimization to assess potential adverse reactions to the design interventions.MethodsA between-subjects web-based experiment was conducted to compare the health perceptions of participants in self-focused AR and vicarious reinforcement design conditions to those in a control condition. Participants were randomly assigned to the control group or to an intervention condition (ie, self-focused AR, reinforcement, self-focus AR × reinforcement, and avatar).ResultsA total of 335 participants were included in the analysis. We found that participants who experienced self-focused AR and vicarious reinforcement scored higher in perceived threat severity (P=.03) and susceptibility (P=.01) when compared to the control. A significant indirect effect of self-focused AR and vicarious reinforcement on intention was found with perceived threat severity as a mediator (b=.06, 95% CI 0.02-0.12, SE .02). Self-focused AR and vicarious reinforcement did not result in higher levels of fear (P=.32) or message minimization (P=.42) when compared to the control.ConclusionsAugmenting one’s reflection with vicarious reinforcement may be an effective strategy for health communication designers. While our study’s results did not show adverse effects in regard to fear and message minimization, utilization of self-focused AR as a health communication strategy should be done with care due to the possible adverse effects of heightened levels of fear.
Highlights
OverviewWith self-focused augmented reality (AR) usage increasing in recent years [1], the utilization of this technology has a potential in addressing health communication and behavior interventions challenges
While our study indicates that combining self-focused AR with vicarious reinforcement may affect health behavior change by influencing threat severity and susceptibility, we lack a data-driven explanation of why
We found that displaying germs disappearing directly from the user’s self-reflection during a handwashing animation will result in higher scores for perceived threat severity and susceptibility when compared to the control or conditions that implemented self-reflection and a display of germs disappearing separately
Summary
OverviewWith self-focused augmented reality (AR) usage increasing in recent years [1], the utilization of this technology has a potential in addressing health communication and behavior interventions challenges. Snapchat’s Time Machine AR lens morphs a user’s reflection to display what the user might look like at different ages Smart mirrors, another self-focused AR technology, combine digital screens (eg, an LCD [liquid-crystal display] monitor) with semitransparent glass. The MIRROR home gym [8] displays fitness instruction layered on top of the user’s reflection Both AR video filters and smart mirrors provide new opportunities for displaying health behavior communication to the public. We found that participants who experienced self-focused AR and vicarious reinforcement scored higher in perceived threat severity (P=.03) and susceptibility (P=.01) when compared to the control. Self-focused AR and vicarious reinforcement did not result in higher levels of fear (P=.32) or message minimization (P=.42) when compared to the control. We propose that when increasing self-focused attention in the context of a health threat, especially during a pandemic, that the negative affect experienced will include fear and will increase to levels higher than if self-focused attention was not activated
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