Gamification in Personal Health Record Systems: a Regulatory fit Perspective

Abstract

Objective: It has been known that individuals’ regulatory focus dif-ferences (prevention orientation or promotion orientation) influ-ence health-related behaviors. However, in the gamificationliterature, when classical and gamified applications are discussed,the gain frame is predominantly included, whereas the loss frameis not sufficiently considered. In this study, individuals’ evaluationsof gamified and non-gamified personal health record systems withdifferent frames were examined.Methods: A 2 (type of personal health record system application:gamified vs. non-gamified) X 2 (frame: gain vs. loss) between-subjectdesign was implemented, and users’ regulatory foci were tested inthis study. We predicted that systems that are gamified and alignedwith users’ regulatory foci will be evaluated more favorably thansystems that are not aligned with users’ regulatory foci.Results: Contrary to what the gamification literature suggests, wefound that individuals do not always prefer gamified systems overnon-gamified ones. Participants’ regulatory focus might play a cru-cial role in their attitudes toward gamified platforms.Conclusion: The findings might contribute to the design of per-sonal health record systems by bearing the individual motivationaldifferences of users in mind