MindHike, a Digital Coaching Application to Promote Self-Control: Rationale, Content, and Study Protocol

Abstract

This protocol describes a study that will test the effectiveness of a 7-week non-clinical digital coaching intervention to promote self-control. The goal of the coaching is to support and guide people who are willing and motivated to improve their self-control with the help of the smartphone application MindHike. The coaching is based on a process model of self-control and aims to target five groups of self-control strategies. The goal of the study is to examine the effectiveness of the digital coaching intervention. A single-arm study design with pre-test, post-test and 2-month follow-up assessments and process assessments will be used to evaluate the 7-week digital coaching intervention. The digital coaching includes 49 daily lessons that are organized along 7 weekly core themes. Study participants will be at least 150 adults aged 18 years and older who are willing and motivated to improve their self-control using the MindHike application. This is the first study testing the effectiveness of a digital coaching intervention to promote self-control. Given that this approach proves effective, it could be easily implemented in various non-clinical settings such as education, health, relationship, and work, and in clinical settings. Due to its digital low-threshold character, it could also reach large numbers of people.

Self‐control in adolescence predicts forgivingness in middle adulthood

“…Given that both predictive effects were evidenced for self‐control level and change, these findings set the stage for considering how early interventions targeting self‐control may have lasting effects. In future efforts toward developing self‐control interventions targeting child and adolescent samples (Allemand et al, 2020 ; Allemand & Flückiger, 2022 ), it would be valuable to consider forgivingness as an outcome of such programs. In this respect, forgivingness becomes yet another potential benefit experienced by self‐controlled youth later in the lifespan, along with multiple health, wealth, and relationship benefits (Moffitt et al, 2011 ; Richmond‐Rakerd et al, 2021 ).…”

Effects of a digital self-control intervention to increase physical activity in middle-aged adults

“…There was no bi-directional communication, but participants clicked on predesignated responses to advance the chatbot dialog. The original MindHike coaching app targets self-control without focusing on the domain of physical activity ( Allemand et al, 2020 ).…”

One year later: Longer‐term maintenance effects of a digital intervention to change personality traits

“…Second, the smartphone application MindHike is a 7-week chatbot-based intervention that supports and guides people who would like to improve their self-control with education, self-reflection, and behavioral tasks (Allemand et al, 2020). The MindHike application was used in a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) (N = 86) to test the effects of the digital self-control coaching intervention to target self-control and physical activity (Stieger et al, 2023).…”