Isolating the role of researcher observation on reactivity to the measurement of physical activity.

ABSTRACT: Reactivity to physical activity (PA) measurement may result from the introduction of a measurement device, researcher observation, or both. Accessing data from prior to study enrollment afforded the rare opportunity to compare behavior during versus prior to participation. This study introduced researcher observation among adults who owned their own PA monitoring device, to test whether measurement reactivity can also be observed in experienced PA trackers, by comparing their data from before versus after the introduction of observation. In addition, the salience of researcher observation was manipulated to test for potential effects. Participants were 252 adults in the U.S. They completed two electronic surveys 14 days apart, in which they recorded steps per day as collected by their PA m

SUBMITTER: Konig LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11659718 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature