Financial rewards can increase health behaviors, but little research has quantified the effects of different reinforcement schedules on this process. This analysis compares the average moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) associated with six distinct positive reinforcement schedules implemented within a physical activity promotion clinical trial. In this trial, participants (N = 512) wore an accelerometer for 1 year and were prescribed one of two types of MVPA goals: a static 30-min goal or an adaptive goal based on the MVPA produced over the previous 9 days. As participants met goals, they transitioned through a sequence of reinforcement stages, beginning with a continuous-fixed magnitude (CRF-FM), then CRF-variable magnitude (CRF-VM), followed by a series of variable ratio-VM (VR-VM) schedules. The average accumulation of MVPA bouts over the last 24 days of each stage was compared to each other. Average MVPA during stage transitions was also examined. The results indicated that immediate reinforcement resulted in more MVPA relative to a comparison group and that the relative effectiveness of adaptive versus static goals was dependent on the magnitude of daily MVPA goals. Schedule effects were qualitatively different for individuals who frequently met their daily goals (Large Intervention Effect subgroup) versus those who did not (Small Intervention Effect subgroup). For the Large Intervention Effect group, the CRF-VM schedule produced the most MVPA, in particular within the adaptive goal condition, with increases observed immediately upon encountering this schedule. In contrast, the CRF-FM schedule produced small amounts of MVPA. This pattern was reversed for the Small Intervention Effect subgroup, where the most MVPA was associated with the CRF-FM stage. Future interventions should focus on discriminating small versus large intervention effects as quickly as possible so that the optimal reinforcement schedule can be used.

中文翻译：

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可变幅度和频率的财务加固有效地增加了成年人的自由运动

经济上的回报可以增加健康行为，但是很少有研究量化不同的强化计划对此过程的影响。该分析比较了在体育锻炼促进临床试验中实施的与六个明显的积极强化计划相关的平均中度到剧烈体育锻炼（MVPA）。在该试验中，参与者（N= 512）佩戴了1年加速计，并被指定为两种类型的MVPA目标之一：静态30分钟目标或基于前9天产生的MVPA的自适应目标。当参与者达到目标时，他们会经历一系列强化阶段，从连续固定幅度（CRF-FM）开始，然后是CRF可变幅度（CRF-VM），然后是一系列可变比率VM（VR- VM）计划。将每个阶段的最后24天的MVPA回合的平均积累进行比较。还检查了阶段过渡期间的平均MVPA。结果表明，与对照组相比，立即加强可产生更多的MVPA，而自适应和静态目标的相对有效性取决于每日MVPA目标的大小。经常达到日常目标（大干预效果亚组）的人和没有达到日常目标的个人（小干预效果亚组）的时间表效果在质量上是不同的。对于大型干预效果组，CRF-VM计划产生了最多的MVPA，尤其是在自适应目标条件内，在遇到该计划后立即观察到增加。相反，CRF-FM时间表产生了少量的M​​VPA。这种模式在小干预效应亚组中是相反的，其中最大的MVPA与CRF-FM阶段有关。未来的干预措施应着重于尽快区分大型干预效果与小型干预效果，以便采用最佳的加固时间表。