In our recently published systematic review in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity we assessed the effectiveness of choice architecture interventions on physical activity and sedentary behavior, and on related intentions and health outcomes.
Choice architecture interventions (including nudges) subtly change the environment in which individuals make decisions in order to promote behavior change. We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library for experimental and quasi-experimental studies published up to December 2019.
Out of the 88 studies included in our review, 86 studies targeted physical activity, predominantly stair use, whereas only two studies targeted sedentary behavior, and one targeted both behaviors. Intervention techniques identified were prompting (n = 53), message framing (n = 24), social comparison (n = 12), feedback (n = 8), default change (n = 1) and anchoring (n = 1). In presence of the intervention, 68% of the studies reported an effect of choice architecture on behavior, whereas after removal of the intervention only 47% of the studies reported a significant effect. For all choice architecture techniques identified, except for message framing, the majority of studies reported a significant effect on behavioral intentions or behavior in presence of the intervention.
The results suggest that prompting can effectively encourage stair use in adults, especially in presence of a prompt. The effectiveness of the choice architecture techniques social influence, feedback, default change and anchoring cannot be assessed based on this review. More (controlled) studies are needed to assess the (sustained) effectiveness of choice architecture interventions on sedentary behavior and other types of physical activity than stair use.
The full manuscript can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-00942-7 (open access)
Landais, L.L., Damman, O.C., Schoonmade, L.J. et al. Choice architecture interventions to change physical activity and sedentary behavior: a systematic review of effects on intention, behavior and health outcomes during and after intervention. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 17, 47 (2020).