YouTurn
YouTurn is smoking cessation 2.0. Building on scientific knowledge from psychology and consumer behavior, quitters bet real money on their success in long-term withstanding. Furthermore, YouTurn builds on the power of social control and reinforcement by including family members and friends to the program.
Rooted in studies proving the positive effect of financial rewards in smoking cessation programs, YouTurn aims to support established cessation programs by adding an additional sweetener: The opportunity to gain real money in case of long-term abstinence. For this purpose, participants bet money on their success. If they manage to remain abstinent until the end of a 3-months-program, YouTurn will not only return the money, but also disburse an additional amount.
During the abstinence program phase, participants benefit from a strong supporting community and professional advice. They may also invite their family members and friends to join and support their non-smoking intentions. Combining insights from consumer behavior, psychology and infromation systems research, YouTurn makes resisting easy and fun.
Publications
Kehr, F., Frieden, M., Kowatsch, T. (2014) The YouTurn Program – Using Principles from Behavioral Economics and an Online Tool to Support Smoking Cessation, Abstract presented at the 7th Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions (ISRII), Symposium on Interactive Technology-Driven Interventions for Smoking Cessation: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Valencia, Spain. (PDF)
Kowatsch, T., Kehr, F. (2014) Towards a Design Theory for IS Services Enabling Incentive-based Health Promotion in Organizations, Multikonferenz Wirtschaftsinformatik (MKWI) 2014, Paderborn, Germany. (PDF)
Kowatsch, T., Kehr, F. (2013) A Behavioral Economics Approach to Health Promotion in Organizations: Design Principles and Evaluation, Presentation at the 4th Annual Workshop on Health IT and Economics (WHITE), Washington, USA. (PDF)
Links
General Information
YouTurn – Smoking Cessation 2.0
Working Group
Flavius Kehr, Elgar Fleisch, Tobias Kowatsch
Duration
Jan 2013 – Dec 2014