Goalkeeper

A Zero-Sum Exergame for Motivating Physical Activity

Conference paper (2021)

Authors

Evangelos Niforatos Evangelos Niforatos Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU),
Camilla Tran Camilla Tran SOGETI High Tech GmbH
Ilias Pappas Ilias Pappas Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), University of Agder
Michail Giannakos Michail Giannakos Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Motivation Physical activity Zero-sum game Exercise contracts Peer competition
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Published Date

2021

Language

English

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Abstract

Incentives and peer competition have so far been employed independently for increasing physical activity. In this paper, we introduce Goalkeeper, a mobile application that utilizes deposit contracts for motivating physical activity in group settings. Goalkeeper enables one to set up a physical exercise challenge with a group of peers that deposit a fixed amount of money for participating. If a peer fails to complete the challenge, Goalkeeper redistributes their deposit to those who managed to complete it (i.e., zero-sum game). We evaluated the potential of Goalkeeper in increasing physical activity with a total of 50 participants over the course of 2 months. Our findings suggest that deposit contracts induce a loss-aversion bias, that in combination with peer competition, is effective in increasing exercise motivation. Ultimately, we generate a set of design principles for exergames that utilize deposit contracts for increasing physical activity in group settings.