Lost in transition: designing an online Possible Selves intervention for new university students

Abstract

Background: In a transnational study, a three-staged online-intervention encouraging new university students to adopt healthy lifestyles is developed and evaluated. The motivational component/stage uses Possible Selves (PS), i.e. images of what students expect, hope or fear to become in the future, to guide health-related behavioral decisions during their first year at university. Method: In this formative research with 20 students, quantitative and qualitative data are gathered on several mock-ups for online PS-interventions (e.g. text, photorealistic pictures, avatars) regarding content, identification, functionality and usability. Expected results: Mock-ups that include feared PS and dynamic features will be evaluated as most effective. Current stage of work: In a current study first year students generate attributes they might possess at specific times in the future. Most commonly mentioned PS will be used in the mock-ups, to be designed and pilot-tested during Spring/Summer 2015. Discussion: The results will inform the design of a tailored PS-intervention providing vivid and easily-accessible mental images of future-selves, which can be retrieved when making health-related behavioral decisions to help align the present-self with future-selves.