Measuring psychological constructs in computer-tailored interventions Novel possibilities to reduce participant burden and increase engagement

Within the field of health psychology, there has been an enormous increase in behaviour change interventions that use digital technology. Answering questions and providing tailored feedback based on the answers provided by participants is the key working mechanism when using computer-tailoring in behaviour change interventions. This behaviour change method has proven to be (cost-)effective and results in participants being exposed to material that is tailored to their social-cognitive prole. At the same time, answering questions to assess this prole increases participant burden, which might contribute to low levels of engagement and high attrition - two of the key challenges in digital health. This article provides insight into how routinely collected data and novel self-assessment methods can be used in computer-tailoring to measure psychological constructs and address these key challenges. The examples presented suggest that the development of novel proxy measures for measuring psychological constructs relevant to computer-tailoring is indeed possible. However, the extent to which measures are valid and actually do reduce participant burden and have other potential benets is speculative and needs further investigation. The recommendations provided for future research and practice are hoped to serve as a stimulance for driving further momentum in this area.