The Power and Peril of Precise vs. Round Health Message Interventions to Increase Stair Use.

Sebastian Krull,David D Loschelder,Lea Boecker

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624198

Sebastian Krull, David D Loschelder + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624198

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Abstract

Taking the stairs vs. an elevator generate benefits for the individual by increasing overall physical activity, health, and wellbeing. In the present paper, we report two pre-registered field intervention studies that examine how health message interventions can motivate individuals to change their behavior. We empirically contrasted opposing predictions from the literature as to whether numerically round (60.00%) or precise (61.87%) health messages are more effective in causing people to use the stairs over taking the elevator. Both interventions were compared to a control condition (no-health message). Contrary to our hypotheses and extant findings, both intervention studies did not produce a significant positive effect of the interventions relative to the control condition. In recent years such null findings have received increasingly more appreciation, particularly in the light of evident downsides of file-drawered studies. We discuss a number of moderating factors that may determine when and why nudging interventions are (in-) effective (e.g., a priori behavioral prevalence, pre-established habits, ceiling effects, and building infrastructure), as well as limitations and avenues for future research.

Highlights

A more sedentary lifestyle, such as choosing elevators and cars over stairs and bicycles, increases individual’s health risk and impairs wellbeing
Experiment 2 tested whether health message interventions would increase stair use rate relative to (1) a baseline period and (2) a control group—again, we contrasted numerically round vs. precise health risk message interventions
We examined for the first time a potential difference between numerically round and precise health risk messages in a nudging framework

Summary

Introduction

A more sedentary lifestyle, such as choosing elevators and cars over stairs and bicycles, increases individual’s health risk and impairs wellbeing. The WHO lists physical inactivity as well as a high body mass index (BMI) as death risk factors with an occurrence of 6% and 10%, respectively. High blood pressure is ranked as the number one cause for death with an occurrence of 26% in Germany (World Health Organization, 2005). Nudging is a widely respected, promising approach to change behavior by alternating the choice architecture that, in turn, directs people toward more healthier behavior (Sunstein and Thaler, 2008). As there is a plethora of successful nudging interventions across various contexts, nudging is considered a highly suitable soft policy tool to promote healthy lifestyle choices (e.g., Lehner et al, 2016 for an overview of implications)

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