Not logged in.

Contribution Details

Type Master's Thesis
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Who wants to “Breeze”? A Cross-Cultural Pilot Study on Intentions to Use Different Versions of a Breathing Training Mobile Game in Germany and the USA
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Yuwei Liu
Supervisors
  • Tobias Kowatsch
  • Gerhard Schwabe
  • Marcia Nißen
Language
  • English
Institution University of Zurich
Faculty Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics
Date 2023
Abstract Text Background: Gamification and storytelling have been implemented in slow breathing training apps, a proven effective way to reduce stress and improve mental wellbeing, with the goal of keeping users interested and engaged. However, it is widely acknowledged that users’ cultural background and socioeconomic status (SES) affect their perceptions of apps and therefore intentions to use it on a regular basis. Objective: Based on previous research on user engagement in digital health interventions, cross-cultural human-computer interaction (HCI) and technology acceptance theories, this thesis investigates the intention to use three distinct versions of a slow breathing training app (Stressless©: control group, Breeze©: with gamification, Tragic Kingdom©: with gamification and storytelling) between German and American users. Methods: Adult US and German nationals were recruited from online crowdsourcing platform Prolific. They were randomly assigned to one of the three condition groups and watched a 1-minute introduction video about the corresponding breathing apps in their preferred language. Afterwards, they reported intention to use in a survey, alongside with other attributes related to technology acceptance that are not evaluated in this thesis. As the dependent variable, aggregated intention to use were summed up based on four survey questions. Independent variables were participants’ nationality and app versions coded as categorical variables. Results: A total of 325 participants completed the study (153 German participants and 144 from US Americans). The results show that while national culture does not play a significant role in intention to use, the effect of app version is strong. Although not statistically significant, SES differences in intention to use is observed with no moderating effect of national culture. Conclusion: Even though most hypothesis cannot be rejected; this thesis still provides meaningful guidelines for future studies on cross-cultural and other demographic comparisons on digital health gamification design.
PDF File Download
Export BibTeX