Increasing Chance-Based Uncertainty Reduces Heavy Drinkers' Cognitive Reactance to Web-Based Personalized Normative...

Area of Science:

• Health Communication
• Psychology
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• Psychological reactance can limit the effectiveness of web-based alcohol interventions.
• Gamification, particularly chance-based uncertainty, is underutilized in these interventions.
• Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF) aims to reduce alcohol consumption by providing tailored information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if gamification, specifically chance-based uncertainty, can reduce psychological reactance in college students undergoing PNF for alcohol use.
• To determine if reduced reactance leads to greater reductions in alcohol consumption.

Main Methods:

• 141 binge-drinking college students were randomized into four web-based PNF conditions.
• Conditions varied in the use of gamelike spinners for topic selection and the number of topics (alcohol-related and other) assessed.
• Psychological reactance, perceived norms, and drinking behaviors were measured over three weeks.

Main Results:

• All conditions reduced perceived drinking norms.
• Web-based interventions incorporating gamelike spinners to introduce chance-based uncertainty significantly reduced cognitive reactance.
• Reduced reactance was associated with a significant decrease in alcohol consumption 20 days later.

Conclusions:

• Introducing chance-based uncertainty via gamelike spinners can mitigate psychological reactance in alcohol interventions.
• Assessing multiple topics and providing feedback on additional, non-alcohol-related topics enhances PNF effectiveness.
• Gamified PNF interventions are more effective for heavy-drinking college students by reducing the perception of a direct intervention aim.