Mobile-Based Experience Sampling for Behaviour Research

Abstract

The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) introduces in-situ sampling of human behaviour, and provides researchers and behavioural therapists with ecologically valid and timely assessments of a person's psychological state. This, in turn, opens up new opportunities for understanding behaviour at a scale and granularity that was not possible just a few years ago. The practical applications are many, such as the delivery of personalised and agile behaviour interventions. Mobile computing devices represent a revolutionary platform for improving ESM. They are an inseparable part of our daily lives, context-aware, and can interact with people at suitable moments. Furthermore, these devices are equipped with sensors, and can thus take part of the reporting burden off the participant, and collect data automatically. The goal of this survey is to discuss recent advancements in using mobile technologies for ESM (mESM), and present our vision of the future of mobile experience sampling.

Supporting smartphone-based behavioral activation

“…Smartphones used in behavioral studies and healthcare have been exponentially growing due to its passive sensor data and the ability to prompt users in-the-wild. This yields a powerful combination for studying behavior and for behavioral change interventions [7]. However, in a recent review of 117 CBT and BA apps, Huguet et al [3], finds that there is a "low level of adherence to the core ingredients of the CBT/BA models" and concludes that "the utility of these CBT/BA apps are questionable".…”

Design Factors of Longitudinal Smartphone-based Health Surveys

“…Little work has been done on enhancing the compliance ratio in ESM [16,28,36]. In one study, the authors used SMS messages to send reminders and thereby increase the response rates in ESM [16].…”

“…The authors in [28] have raised several questions in their future work section (e.g., the impact of frequency of surveys and the number of questions per survey on survey fatigue), which we aim to address in this work. In [36], the authors performed a survey of mESM approaches, including a discussion of various challenges, such as participant recruitment and incentive mechanisms, sampling time and frequency, contextual bias, data privacy, and sensor scheduling. Some of these challenges are addressed in this paper.…”

“…These advanced features of smartphones introduce a new dimension in ESM studies, i.e., a mobile-based experience sampling method or mESM [36]. It has many benefits over other user survey methods, such as observation, retrospective reports/diary, and interview-based user surveys.…”

Overcoming mental blocks: A blocks-based approach to experience sampling studies

“…Traditionally ESM studies were conducted with pen-and-paper diaries, and an electronic signalling device such as a pager that would notify participants when to complete a diary survey. Today, ubiquitous mobile technology has motivated the development of smartphonebased ESM applications for alleviating researchers and participants from burdens associated with paper-based methods [2]. Such devices are an ideal platform to deliver personalised information to their users at opportune moments, or to collect reports on users' thoughts, feelings or physical symptoms without bringing them to a clinic or research laboratory.…”