Estimating cognitive biases in the use of vegetable intake self-monitoring device.

Abstract

BACKGROUND：In Japan, vegetable intake consistently falls below the recommended 350 g/d by Health Japan 21. A device, "VEGE CHECK," was developed to encourage better vegetable intake, which non-invasively estimates vegetable consumption through skin carotenoid measurements. This self-monitoring device is expected to improve vegetable intake. OBJECTIVE：This study identified cognitive biases related to voluntary device use. METHODS：We placed the device in two supermarkets, interviewing subjects on Sundays and Mondays about device awareness, usage, and reasons for use or non-use. To determine which stage of the behavioral model is affected by biases, we summarized identified biases based on the AIDA（Attention-Interest-Desire-Action）model. RESULTS：Among 554 subjects, 39.4% and 17.0% of the subjects noticed the device placed in and out of their line of sight, respectively. Half of those who noticed the device used it, especially when someone accompanied them. The main reasons for use were “interest in vegetable intake”（52.5%）and “interest in the device and measurement”（30.0%）. Reasons for non-use included competing priorities like shopping or childcare（26.3%）and avoiding lines when others used it（21.1%）. We identified the non-attentional blindness bias that inhibits use in the Attention stage, the conformity and altruism biases that promote use the ambiguity aversion, overconfidence, and optimism biases that inhibit use in the Interest stage, and the Status Quo bias that inhibits use in the Desire stage. CONCLUSION：We have identified cognitive biases that promote/inhibit voluntary use of the device. Subsequent field experiments are necessary to develop nudges that address these cognitive biases effectively.