Effects of Choice Set Sizes and Moderations of Anxiety and State Emotions on Mental Health Self-Care Uptake, Engagement, and User Experience: Experimental Study
Siu Kit Yeung, Florence H T Leung, Jason C M Lee, Gabriel Man Hin Cheung, Ching Wan Li, Winnie W S Mak · 2025
Read Effects of Choice Set Sizes and Moderations of Anxiety and State Emotions on Mental Health Self-Care Uptake, Engagement, and User Experience: Experimental Study by Siu Kit Yeung, Florence H T Leung, Jason C M Lee, Gabriel Man Hin Cheung, Ching Wan Li, Winnie W S Mak (2025) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-12705060.txt.
Description
Siu Kit Yeung and co-authors test whether giving users more exercise choices helps or hurts in a mental health app, in a 2025 experiment. Digital platforms stock many self-care exercises, and designers fear too much choice will freeze people. The team recruited 652 participants and gave them one, four, or sixteen activities to pick from, or the option to skip. Mood, anxiety, and motivation were measured before and after.
People offered several choices were far more likely to practice than those offered one. They also felt better about their decision, with the sixteen-choice group happiest. The gains held across most mood and motivation profiles the team checked. Early signs suggest anxiety may shape who benefits most. The authors conclude that, in this setting, more choice invites action rather than blocking it.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Siu Kit Yeung, Florence H T Leung, Jason C M Lee, Gabriel Man Hin Cheung, Ching Wan Li, Winnie W S Mak |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2025 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 105 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |