Personalizing Mobile Applications for Health Behavioral Change according to personality: cross-sectional validation of a Preference matrix
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mHealth apps are increasingly popular, offering tools like health tracking and personalized reminders to support these behaviors. Personalized messaging, tailored to the user’s profile, has been shown to improve engagement and retention around health topics. Research links personality traits (based on the Big Five model) with preferred app mechanisms, leading to a preference matrix for personalizing health apps. This preference matrix includes 15 mechanisms, categorized by the Behavior Change Technique and gamification elements, guiding developers to optimize app engagement based on user profiles. This study aims to validate this preference matrix by assessing whether the associations between mechanisms and Big Five personality profiles proposed in the preference matrix align with the preferences of our population in an experimental context. This study employs a cross-sectional design. Participants completed an online survey, which collected data on demographic information, mobile health app usage, and personality. The average age of the 214 respondents (118 women, 89 men, 5 others), was 29.42. Logistic regression and logistic ordinal regression analyses, adjusted using the Bonferroni correction, assessed the influence of personality traits on mechanism preferences and motivation levels was statistically significant for three mechanisms. Conscientiousness significantly increased the likelihood of selection for collection (OR = 1.87). For competition, both conscientiousness (OR = 3.22) and altruism (OR = 1.93) emerged as strong predictors. For rewards, conscientiousness (OR = 1.97) and neuroticism (OR = 2.36) also showed a strong predictive value. The study found that four mechanisms—self-monitoring, progression, challenge, and quest—were favored by over half of the participants, suggesting these should be standard features in mHealth applications. Conscientious participants showed a preference for the collection mechanism, while both conscientious and altruistic individuals were drawn to competition. Neurotic and conscientious individuals preferred the reward mechanism. Conscientiousness consistently predicted preferences for all three gamification elements, highlighting its role in influencing engagement with mHealth features.
Author summary
The increasing emphasis on fostering healthy behaviors and mitigating health-related risk factors—such as physical inactivity, a major contributor to mortality—has driven the rapid expansion of mobile health (mHealth) applications. These digital tools are designed to support behavior modification by incorporating functionalities like reminders, goal tracking, and individualized intervention strategies, which have been associated with improved user engagement and sustained adherence. Central to the efficacy of these interventions is personalization, wherein adaptive content is aligned with the unique attributes and preferences of individual users. Empirical findings indicate that customized messages and feedback outperform standardized approaches, particularly in the promotion of physical activity and weight management. Moreover, the integration of gamification elements is a common strategy employed to enhance motivation and user interaction, with preliminary evidence supporting its positive influence. In this study, we seek to enhance the impact of digital health interventions by systematically mapping game mechanics, behavioral change strategies, and application features to user profiles characterized by the Big Five personality dimensions.
