Influence of Animation- Versus Text-Based Delivery of a Web-Based Computer-Tailored Smoking Cessation Intervention on User Perceptions

Computer-tailored (CT) digital health interventions have shown to be effective in obtaining behaviour change. Yet, user perceptions of these interventions are often unsatisfactory. Traditional CT interventions rely mostly on text-based feedback messages. A way of presenting feedback messages in a more engaging manner may be the use of narrated animations instead of text. The goal of this study was to assess the effect of manipulating the mode of delivery (animation vs. text) in a smoking cessation intervention on user perceptions among smokers and non-smokers. Smokers and non-smokers (N=181) were randomized into either the animation or text condition. Participants in the animation condition assessed the intervention as more effective (ηp2=.035), more trustworthy (ηp2=.048), more enjoyable (ηp2=.022), more aesthetic (ηp2=.233), and more engaging (ηp2=.043) compared to participants in the text condition. Participants that received animations compared to text messages also reported to actively trust the intervention more (ηp2=.039) and graded the intervention better (ηp2=.056). These findings suggest that animation-based interventions are superior to text-based interventions with respect to user perceptions.