The researchers wanted to see how a sense of autonomy and accomplishment drive a child’s fitness goals. Instead of assigning a goal for every child, the mixed reality kiosk gave them the freedom to set their own goals.
This approach allowed kids to set goals that were more reachable for them instead of following a one-size-fits-all approach to physical activity.
“That sense of mastery is very critical in changing behavior, but if you’ve never experienced mastering something, then you’re never going to know that sense of accomplishment,” said Ahn. “So the idea was to set the goal to essentially meet them where they are. For some kids, that may be 60 minutes of activity. For others, it may be 15. But that’s a great starting point.”