Self-relevant appeals to engage in self-monitoring of alcohol use: A microrandomized trial

While self-monitoring can help mitigate alcohol misuse in young adults, engagement with digital self-monitoring is suboptimal. The present study investigates the utility of two types of digital prompts (reminders) to encourage young adults to self-monitor their alcohol use. These prompts leverage information that is self-relevant (i.e., represents and is valuable) to the person.

Five hundred ninety-one college students (M_age = 18; 61% = female, 76% = White) were enrolled in an 8-week intervention study involving biweekly digital self-monitoring of their alcohol use. At baseline, participants selected an item they would like to purchase for themselves and their preferred charitable organization. Then, biweekly, participants were microrandomized to a prompt highlighting the opportunity to either (a) win their preferred item (self-interest prompt); or (b) donate to their preferred charity (prosocial prompt). Following self-monitoring completion, participants allocated reward points toward lottery drawings for their preferred item or charity.

The self-interest (vs. prosocial) prompt was significantly more effective in promoting proximal self-monitoring at the beginning of the study, Est = exp(.14) = 1.15; 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.01, 1.29], whereas the prosocial (vs. self-interest) prompt was significantly more effective at the end, Est = exp(-.17) = 0.84; 95% CI [0.70, 0.98]. Further, the prosocial (vs. self-interest) prompt was significantly more effective among participants who previously allocated all their reward points to drawings for their preferred item, Est = exp(-.15) = 0.86; 95% CI [.75, .97].

These results suggest that the advantage of prompts that appeal to a person's self-interest (vs. prosocial) motives varies over time and based on what reward options participants prioritized in previous decisions. Theoretical and practical implications for intervention design are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).