Start Date

11-12-2016 12:00 AM

Description

Self-tracking is defined as using technology to monitor one’s own behaviour e.g. sleeping habits or steps. Using established measurements from psychology we investigate how different levels of self-control influence the tracking behaviour of consumers and their expenditures for self-tracking software and hardware. Furthermore, we analyse what motivations to start self-tracking drive different self-tracking activities. To this end we conducted a web-based survey with 130 participants and evaluated our data using PLS-SEM analysis. We find that higher levels of self-control increase the odds of consumers tracking physical parameters and spending more for self-tracking software and hardware. Furthermore, higher impulsivity has a negative effect on the likelihood of tracking medical parameters. Tracking behaviour in general is driven by curiosity. Overall expenditures depend on the usage frequency of self-tracking tools. We conclude that users with low self-control value self-tracking to a lower degree because they are confronted with negative self-tracking results and emotions.

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Dec 11th, 12:00 AM

The Role of Self-Control in Self-Tracking

Self-tracking is defined as using technology to monitor one’s own behaviour e.g. sleeping habits or steps. Using established measurements from psychology we investigate how different levels of self-control influence the tracking behaviour of consumers and their expenditures for self-tracking software and hardware. Furthermore, we analyse what motivations to start self-tracking drive different self-tracking activities. To this end we conducted a web-based survey with 130 participants and evaluated our data using PLS-SEM analysis. We find that higher levels of self-control increase the odds of consumers tracking physical parameters and spending more for self-tracking software and hardware. Furthermore, higher impulsivity has a negative effect on the likelihood of tracking medical parameters. Tracking behaviour in general is driven by curiosity. Overall expenditures depend on the usage frequency of self-tracking tools. We conclude that users with low self-control value self-tracking to a lower degree because they are confronted with negative self-tracking results and emotions.