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ERIC Number: EJ1026762
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0744-8481
EISSN: N/A
The Efficacy of Incentives to Motivate Continued Fitness-Center Attendance in College First-Year Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Pope, Lizzy; Harvey, Jean
Journal of American College Health, v62 n2 p81-90 2014
Objective: To determine whether fitness-center attendance established with the provision of weekly monetary incentives persisted after the discontinuation, or decreased frequency, of incentives. Participants: One hundred seventeen first-year college students participated during the 2011-2012 academic year. Methods: A randomized controlled trial with control, discontinued-incentive, and continued-incentive conditions was conducted. During fall semester, students in incentive conditions received weekly monetary payments for meeting fitness-center attendance goals. During spring semester, discontinued-incentive condition participants no longer received incentives, whereas continued-incentive condition participants received payments on a variable-interval schedule. ID-card attendance records tracked fitness-center attendance. Results: Goal completion decreased from 63% in the incentive groups during the fall semester to 3% in the discontinued-incentive condition, and 39% in the continued-incentive condition during the spring semester. There was not a significant interaction between condition and body mass index change, F(6, 332) = 0.67, p = 0.68. Conclusion: Incentive discontinuation resulted in students no longer meeting fitness-center attendance goals. A variable-interval reward schedule better maintained attendance.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A