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Maintaining high activity levels in sedentary adults with a reinforcement‐thinning schedule
Author(s) -
Andrade Leonardo F.,
Barry Danielle,
Litt Mark D.,
Petry Nancy M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1002/jaba.147
Subject(s) - reinforcement , thinning , psychology , randomized controlled trial , psychological intervention , schedule , physical medicine and rehabilitation , physical therapy , medicine , psychiatry , surgery , social psychology , ecology , computer science , biology , operating system
Physical inactivity is a leading cause of mortality. Reinforcement interventions appear to be useful for increasing activity and preventing adverse consequences of sedentary lifestyles. This study evaluated a reinforcement‐thinning schedule for maintaining high activity levels. Sedentary adults ( N = 77) were given pedometers and encouraged to walk ≥10,000 steps per day. Initially, all participants earned rewards for each day they walked ≥10,000 steps. Subsequently, 61 participants were randomized to a monitoring‐only condition or a monitoring‐plus‐reinforcement‐thinning condition, in which frequencies of monitoring and reinforcing walking decreased over 12 weeks. The mean (± SD ) percentage of participants in the monitoring‐plus‐reinforcement‐thinning condition who met walking goals was 83% ± 24% and was 55% ± 31% for participants in the monitoring‐only condition, p < .001. Thus, monitoring plus reinforcement thinning maintained high rates of walking when it was in effect; however, groups did not differ at a 24‐week follow‐up. Monitoring plus reinforcement thinning, nevertheless, hold potential to extend benefits of reinforcement interventions at low costs.