A theory that proposes that incentives, either internal or external, imbue personal meaning to behaviors.
Published in Chapter:
Get in the GROOVE: Using a Virtual World to Promote Health
Mary Kate Clennan (University of Miami, USA), Daniella S. Carucci (University of Miami, USA), Marissa D. Alert (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA), Shannon Collins (SEC Prestige Consulting, USA), Erin N. Etzel (VA Maryland Health Care System, USA), Alyssa LaRoche (Aimee Weber Studio, USA), Maria I. Leeder (Miami-Dade County Public Schools, USA), and Patrice G. Saab (University of Miami, USA)
Copyright: © 2019
|Pages: 25
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-9679-0.ch008
Abstract
Over the last few decades there has been a rise in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in American youth. This chapter describes the rationale for the virtual world features of an obesity prevention project that engaged middle-school-aged girls in a 3-week summer science enrichment program. The Get in the GROOVE! program was designed to promote self-efficacy for health behavior change, increase health knowledge, facilitate healthy behaviors related to physical activity and nutrition, encourage a healthy body image, and promote the development and consolidation of a health self-identity. The virtual world, which was explored by the girls via realistic and healthy avatars, supplemented experiences and reinforced curriculum and concepts learned in the physical world component of the program. Findings suggest that a virtual world is a promising platform to promote a health self-identity and healthy lifestyle in children.