Influence of Personality Traits on the Continued Use of Fitness Apps

While fitness apps show promise to improve people’s health and well-being, studies have indicated a high dropout rate among their users. This study uses the expectation confirmation model (ECM) to examine post-adoption factors affecting continued use or dropout among users of fitness apps, with a specific focus on the impact of users’ personality traits (the “big five” traits) on the ECM model variables. We present our theoretical model and the results of our survey with 129 participants. We confirm that satisfaction, perceived usefulness, and confirmation of expectations resulting from use of fitness apps influence the continued use of the apps. Moreover, we show that conscientiousness and neuroticism, as traits, positively influence perceived usefulness. This study increases our understanding of the factors impacting continued use of fitness app

Clarifying the Relationship Between Fitness Apps’ Affordances and Features

Affordance theory posits that users\u27 engagement with technology can form affordances that facilitate goal-oriented actions. Studies investigating affordances of fitness apps employed diverse definitions of affordances. Relying on the affordance theory, we developed principles to help identify fitness apps\u27 affordances: (1) affordances require users\u27 perception of their usefulness, (2) app features exist regardless of users\u27 perception, and (3) a single affordance can be enabled by multiple features. Using these principles, we examined fitness apps\u27 affordances reported in the literature. Our results show that 12 affordances out of the 17 followed the principles, and the remainder are features of the apps. We then mapped the 12 affordances against Fitbit app\u27s features. Our mapping identified several instances where multiple features can enable a single affordance and a single Fitbit feature could enable multiple affordances. Our findings enhance research studying the roles the features and affordances play in users’ engagement with fitness apps

A Review of the Applications of Affordance Theory in mHealth App Research

Humans’ relationships with objects are a crucial theoretical phenomenon in the visual perception field. Gibson contributed to the field by introducing Affordance Theory. His theory explains that humans do not interact with objects unless they perceive what the objects can afford or offer them. This position has created an ongoing debate leading IS researchers, among others, to apply the theory differently following two schools of thought. One school highlights the existence of IT artifact’s affordances to users’ perceptions and the IT artifact’s features merging together. The other school emphasizes that the IT artifact’s affordances are already embedded in its design and features. This review compares various applications of the theory made by the two schools, focusing on mHealth app studies. A framework including the various useful arguments is presented in order to guide researchers toward a better utilization and to help designers to improve IT artifact’s usability and usefulness

Personality Traits and Affordance Actualization: An Investigation of the Continued Use of Fitness Apps

Post-adoption behaviors, including the continued use of information technology (“ITcontinuance”), have long interested researchers in IT adoption and usage. Several models, such as the Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM), have been employed widely in information systems to identify critical factors influencing IT continuance. The ECM emphasizes that users’ perceived usefulness, satisfaction, and confirmation of expectations affect IT continuance. In this dissertation, I argue that each technology possesses unique attributes that offer distinct advantages to specific users or user groups. These distinctions take the form of technology features, affordance actualizations, and user characteristics and must be taken into account when studying IT continuance. By studying the interplay between these factors, we can understand one core factor of the ECM, namely perceived usefulness, which has a long-lasting impact on IT continuance. This dissertation argues that (1) perceived usefulness is influenced by technology affordance actualizations, (2) the relationship between perceived usefulness and affordance actualization is mediated by technology features, and (3) affordance actualization is influenced by users’ personality traits. A quantitative methodology was employed, and a survey instrument was developed, incorporating measures adopted from existing literature including the ECM, the big five personality traits, and new measures to uncover the fitness app affordances (e.g., exercise guidance) that users actualize using each of the app’s features (e.g., workout videos). The theoretical model, the survey results of 433 participants, and the analysis of covariance-based structural equation modeling are presented. The findings support the arguments in the IS literature regarding the explanatory power of the ECM for IT continuance. Additionally, the results confirm the dissertation’s hypothesis that actualizing the affordances of a fitness app influences users’ perception of the app’s usefulness. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that actualizing these affordances using specific features can lead to positive or negative perceptions of the app’s usefulness. Finally, the results also support that certain personality traits influence the actualization of affordances. The study also reveals novel affordances that are actualized through the utilization of Fitbit features. The insights offered by this dissertation contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors that impact IT continuance and provide valuable guidance for developing user-centered technologies that promote continued usage

Wellness mHealth Apps’ Features, Affordances, and Fulfillment of Human Psychological Needs

Wellness mHealth apps are applications that guide and motivate users to form healthy habits, such as walking, to improve their health and well-being. However, such improvements require long-term engagement, which is found to be rare as many users discontinue these activities after a short period. This creates an opportunity for research to investigate factors impacting users’ engagement with these apps. Studies have discovered technical problems, acceptance obstacles, and design preferences can impact user engagement. Literature on social media use reports that fulfillment of users’ psychological needs is an affordance of the technology and could lead to long term engagement. This study investigates whether this phenomenon holds for wellness apps given that humans’ goals drive their actions toward the fulfillment of psychological needs. This study will apply affordance theory and five human motivation theories, following a qualitative approach. It aims to uncover wellness apps’ affordances related to fulfillment of psychological needs

Investigating the Affordances of Wellness mHealth Apps

Previous research on the effectiveness of wellness mHealth apps focused on the design and features of such apps and paid insufficient attention to how the whole relationship between the apps and users impact use. Using affordance theory, we investigated what wellness mHealth apps afford to users and why these affordances are not actualized by all users. We conducted a qualitative study, collecting data from apps’ reviews and from fifteen participants who used multiple wellness mHealth apps. Our grounded theory analysis revealed four shared affordances (promoting goals, comparing oneself to others, coaching, and nurturing) related to the use of wellness mHealth apps and three immediate concrete outcomes (habit formation, self-awareness, and goal attainment) reached after the affordances were actualized. Nonetheless, factors such as information overload, aesthetic appreciation, and users’ characteristics may impact users’ actualizations of the shared affordances and prevent some users from reaching their immediate concrete outcomes