Wearable Health Information: Effects of Comparative Feedback and Presentation Mode

Wearable devices with health monitoring and activity tracking functions are experiencing increasing popularity and allow users to become more aware of their health-related behavior. To find more effective ways of delivering health information to users, this study examined the psychological effects of forms of health feedback (comparative vs. non-comparative) and presentation modes (text vs. image) on users' tendencies toward health conservation. Results from a between-subjects experiment (N = 40) revealed that health information in a comparative and textual format was more effective in encouraging health conservation in participants than identical information presented in a non-comparative and image format. In addition, participants' level of health consciousness emerged as a significant predictor. The implications of the key findings are discussed.