Despite abundant evidence for the benefits of physical activity on aging trajectories, older Americans remain largely inactive. The present study was designed to examine age differences in responsiveness to financial incentives to increase walking. Grounded in socioemotional selectivity theory, we examined the effectiveness of financial incentives that varied in prosociality. Three types of incentives were presented to community-residing adults 18-92 years of age (N = 450). Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 conditions: personal, loved one, charity, choice, or a no-incentive control group. Average daily step counts were measured using pedometers during a baseline week, during the incentivized period, and after the incentivized period ended. Overall, financial incentives significantly increased walking compared to a control group. Whereas personal incentives were effective regardless of age, incentives to earn for charities were starkly more effective in older adults than younger adults. Moreover, 1 week after the incentivized period ended, older participants were more likely to maintain increased step counts, whereas younger people reverted to baseline step counts. Findings suggest that financial incentives can increase walking in a wide age range and that charitable incentives may be especially effective in health interventions targeting older adults. The importance of aligning incentives with age-related goals is discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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利用目标来激励整个成年期的健康行为。

尽管有大量证据表明体育锻炼对衰老轨迹有益，但美国老年人在很大程度上仍然不活跃。本研究旨在检查对增加步行的经济激励的反应的年龄差异。基于社会情感选择性理论，我们检验了在亲社会性方面不同的经济激励措施的有效性。向 18-92 岁的社区居民 (N = 450) 提供了三种激励措施。参与者被随机分配到 5 个条件中的一个：个人、亲人、慈善、选择或无激励对照组。在基线周、激励期和激励期结束后，使用计步器测量平均每日步数。总体而言，与对照组相比，经济激励显着增加了步行。尽管个人激励措施无论年龄大小都是有效的，但为慈善事业赚钱的激励措施在老年人身上明显比年轻人更有效。此外，激励期结束后 1 周，老年参与者更有可能保持增加的步数，而年轻人则恢复到基线步数。研究结果表明，经济激励可以增加广泛年龄范围内的步行，而慈善激励可能在针对老年人的健康干预中特别有效。讨论了将激励措施与年龄相关目标相结合的重要性。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。激励期结束后 1 周，老年参与者更有可能保持增加的步数，而年轻人则恢复到基线步数。研究结果表明，经济激励可以增加广泛年龄范围内的步行，而慈善激励可能在针对老年人的健康干预中特别有效。讨论了将激励措施与年龄相关目标相结合的重要性。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。激励期结束后 1 周，老年参与者更有可能保持增加的步数，而年轻人则恢复到基线步数。研究结果表明，经济激励可以增加广泛年龄范围内的步行，而慈善激励可能在针对老年人的健康干预中特别有效。讨论了将激励措施与年龄相关目标相结合的重要性。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。讨论了将激励措施与年龄相关目标相结合的重要性。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。讨论了将激励措施与年龄相关目标相结合的重要性。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。