How Effective Are Social Influence Strategies in Persuasive Apps for Promoting Physical Activity?: A Systematic Review

The use of behavior change systems and persuasive technologies to promote desirable behavior is increasingly gaining attention. Most existing Persuasive Technologies (PTs) are targeted at promoting Physical Activity (PA) using three common socially-oriented persuasive strategies: competition, social comparison, and cooperation. This paper provides an empirical review of 19 years (54 papers) of literature on persuasive technology for physical activity promotion. The review aims to (1.) evaluate the effectiveness of PTs employing social influence strategies to promote PA; (2.) summarize and highlight trends in the outcomes and employed technological platforms; (3.) reveal some weaknesses of existing PTs for promoting PA; and finally, (4.) offer suggestions for improvements, and opportunities for future research in this area.