What is Non-specific incentive?
A non-specific incentive is a promised reward not directly tied to a specific behavior but offered for general engagement or participation.
How it works
Non-specific incentives include participation prizes and attendance rewards. They are useful for getting people to show up (low initial barrier) but less effective for shaping specific behaviors. They work best as a gateway: the incentive gets people in the door, and other techniques change behavior once engaged.
Applied example
A workplace wellness program giving all participants a $50 gift card for attending a health screening uses the reward to overcome the initial participation barrier. Behavior-specific techniques are then applied during the screening.
Why it matters
Non-specific incentives solve the enrollment problem but must be combined with behavior-specific techniques to produce actual change.
