Social, Behavioral & Experimental Economics (SBEE): Using micro-randomized trials to study processes underlying response to mobile health interventions

Abstract

Micro-randomized trials (MRTs) are a new experimental design for optimizing just-in-time adaptive interventions. In addition to informing intervention design, however, MRTs can also provide insights into the underlying psychosocial processes that mediate intervention response. In this talk, I will describe some of the recent findings from the HeartSteps project which show that mHealth interventions provided in the exact same way (in our case, as push notifications suggesting to individuals how they can be active in their current context) can have different dynamics, suggesting that the response to them is mediated by different underlying processes. I suggest that, in addition to supporting intervention design, MRTs can be a powerful tool for studying human behavior in a granular way in the midst of messiness of day-to-day life.

Bio

Predrag "Pedja" Klasnja is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. He works at the intersection of human-computer interaction and behavioral science, and he studies how mobile technologies can help individuals make and sustain health-protective lifestyle changes. He is particularly interested in the design and evaluation of just-in-time adaptive interventions, technologies that continuously adapt their functioning to provide optimal support to individuals as their needs and circumstances change.