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Table 1 Vegethon mobile app intervention mapped to behavior change techniques (BCTs)

From: Iterative development of Vegethon: a theory-based mobile app intervention to increase vegetable consumption

Behavior Change Techniquea

Definitionb

Intervention component and description

1.1. Goal setting (behavior)

Set or agree on a goal defined in terms of the behavior to be achieved

Goals: select daily goals for number of servings and types of vegetables to consume

1.6. Discrepancy between current behavior and goal

Draw attention to discrepancies between current behavior and previously set behavioral goals

Progress & points; progress: bar graphs showing the discrepancy between goals and recorded consumption

1.9. Commitment

Ask the person to affirm or reaffirm statements indicating commitment to change the behavior

Surprise challenges: users are prompted to select “I’m in!” to affirm their commitment to undertake a surprise challenge

2.2. Feedback on behavior

Monitor and provide informative or evaluative feedback on performance of the behavior

In-app notifications: notifications when users reach 100 % of their daily goal or a 3-day or 7-day vegetable logging streak

2.3. Self-monitoring of behavior

Establish a method for the person to monitor and record their behavior

Select veggies: self-monitoring of vegetable servings and kinds consumed

4.1. Instruction on how to perform a behavior

Advise or agree on how to perform the behavior

Advice & tips: information on how to cook or prepare different vegetable types, and ideas for completing challenges

5.1. Information about health consequences

Provide information about health consequences of performing behavior

Advice & tips: information on health benefits of consuming vegetables

6.2. Social comparison

Draw attention to others’ performance to allow comparison with the person’s own performance

Leaderboard; weekly reports: comparing users’ consumption with others similar to them

6.3. Information about others’ approval

Provide information about what other people think about the behavior.

Weekly reports: great, good, or below average labels corresponding to participant performance

7.1. Prompts/cues

Introduce or define environmental or social stimulus to cue behavior

Push notifications: notifications to prompt self-monitoring of vegetable consumption

7.2. Reduce prompts/cues

Withdraw gradually prompts to perform the behavior

Push notifications: reduction in frequency if user has stopped logging, to reduce likelihood of annoyance

9.1. Credible source

Present verbal or visual communication from a credible source in favor of or against behavior

Goals: indicate the ‘recommended’ daily veg intake from the USDA

10.4 Social reward

Arrange verbal/non-verbal reward if and only if effort/progress is made

In-app notifications: messages to notify the user that a goal or challenge was met

10.5. Social incentive

Inform that verbal or non-verbal reward will be delivered if and only if effort/progress is made

Challenges: challenges with point-based rewards that will be delivered if met

13.1. Identification of self as role model

Inform that one’s own behavior may be an example to others

Push notifications: messages that label users as role models (e.g. You’re setting an impressive example in the Vegethon community.)

13.2. Framing/reframing

Suggest adoption of new perspective on a behavior to change cognitions/emotions about it

Name, tutorial: overall intervention framed as a race to eat as many vegetables as possible (rather than meeting a minimum necessary threshold)

13.5. Identity associated with changed behavior

Advise the person to construct a new self-identity

Push notifications; in-app notifications: messaging to help users begin to identify themselves as vegetable eaters (e.g., calling users ‘Vegethoners’)

15.1. Verbal persuasion about capability

Tell the person they can successfully perform the wanted behavior

Push notifications: positivity even when participants haven’t met goals or interacted with app recently

  1. aListed by Michie et al.‘s taxonomy number [21]
  2. bDefinition summarized based on Michie et al.‘s taxonomy [21]