A Behavioral Strategy to Nudge Young Adults to Adopt In-Person Counseling: Gamification

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• Digital Health

Background:

• Mental illness is a significant concern for young adults.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health challenges in this demographic.
• Accessing in-person counseling remains a barrier for many young adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of gamification on young adults' adoption of in-person counseling.
• To explore the mediating role of subjective usability in this relationship.
• To examine the moderating effect of presentation vividness.

Main Methods:

• A 2 (Gamification: no vs. yes) x 2 (Vividness: low vs. high) between-subjects experimental design was used.
• One hundred twenty young adults (average age 29) participated.
• Participants in the gamification condition decided on reading introductory material and adopting counseling.

Main Results:

• Gamification significantly increased the adoption of in-person counseling.
• Perceived subjective usability of counseling mediated the effect of gamification on adoption.
• The vividness of the presentation moderated the relationship between gamification and subjective usability.

Conclusions:

• Gamification can effectively nudge young adults toward in-person counseling.
• Subjective usability is a key mediator in this process.
• Presentation vividness influences the effectiveness of gamification in enhancing usability perceptions.