Evaluating the social acceptability of the Re‐Connect concept: A smartphone‐based, nonfinancial, contingency management intervention

Abstract

Contingency management is a well‐validated behavior change intervention; however, the financial incentives can prevent it from being widely adopted. Most Americans have a smartphone with applications (apps) that they find enjoyable and engage with for a considerable amount of time. A potential avenue for contingency management dissemination is a mobile smartphone application that leverages the existing reward value of smartphone apps as a tool for behavior change. The present study examined the acceptability of the Re‐Connect concept, which proposes to block nonessential but highly preferred apps and unlock them contingent on meeting the user's health goals. Out of the sample surveyed (N = 146), 63.02% reported that they would be likely to use Re‐Connect and 67.81% would recommend it to someone. Acceptability of Re‐Connect increased with greater user control. These results suggest that access to preferred smartphone apps could be a socially acceptable incentive in a contingency management intervention.