Expectancies and serious gaming

Prior research demonstrated that serious gaming can be a promising tool in promoting health behaviors, such as a healthy food choice. To our knowledge, however, it is not yet investigated whether health behaviors could also be optimized when participants do not perform health-related serious games, but are solely instructed about the effectiveness and the actions of the games. Therefore, in the present study it is investigated whether a positive outcome expectancy considering the effectiveness and working mechanisms of serious games can optimize food preference and food choice.

The aim of the study is to investigate whether a positive outcome expectancy considering the effectiveness and working mechanisms of health-related serious gaming alone or in combination with playing health-related serious games can optimize food preference and food choice.

First, participants are screened through an online questionnaire in order to check the eligibility criteria. When they are eligible to take part in the study, they are invited to one lab session. During the lab session, participants complete questionnaires and are then randomized to one of the four conditions as described above. Subsequently, participants perform the food choice task, a bogus taste test and an implicit association task. Thereafter, they again have to complete several questionnaires.

This randomized controlled experiment involves four conditions, in which: (1) health-related serious games are performed without providing a positive outcome expectancy, (2) health-related serious games are performed and a positive outcome expectancy considering the effectiveness and working mechanisms of health-related serious gaming is provided, (3) a positive outcome expectancy considering the effectiveness and working mechanisms of health-related serious gaming is provided, without performing health-related serious games, and (4) non-health-related games are performed without providing a positive outcome expectancy.