Learn how to change behavior.
The world's largest collection of resources and data on behavioral science.
Behavior change and behavior design models

MODELS
Fogg Behavior Model
TYPE
Behavior model
PEOPLE
BJ Fogg

MODELS
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
TYPE
Therapeutic approach
PEOPLE
Aaron Beck
PRODUCTS USING
NASH, Sleepio, Learn to Live, Ieso Digital Health, myStrength, MoodHacker, Sanvello, UpLift, TAO Connect, Stoic, wayForward, Daylight, Braive, Youper, MoodMission, MoodKit, MindBeacon, Workit Health, Woebot

MODELS
Operant Conditioning
TYPE
Behavior model
PEOPLE
BF Skinner, Edward Thorndike

MODELS
EAST | Easy Attractive Social Timely
TYPE
Behavior design process / heuristics
PEOPLE
Owain Service, Michael Hallsworth, David Halpern
ORGANIZATION
UK Behavioural Insights Team (BIT)

MODELS
Attention, Belief, Choice, Determination
TYPE
Behavior design process / heuristics
ORGANIZATION
OECD

MODELS
Intervention Design Process
TYPE
Behavior design process / heuristics
PEOPLE
Matt Wallaert
Tactics that change behavior

TACTICS
Covert Learning
Covert learning refers to imparting educational information into non-traditional methods of delivery. For example, a film where someone learns cognitive behavioral therapy techniques or receives training on body-weight fitness exercises may teach someone how to do these (or at least generally what they are). People may also learn the consequences of a behavior through watching someone else experience them, and this concept (viarious experience) is a key component of Bandura's social cognitive theory.

TACTICS
AI or Chatbot
Using a chatbot or simulated conversational interaction.

TACTICS
Coaching or Counselling
Coaching or counselling here refers to having a trained person provide guidance to someone attempting a behavior. Many mental health and lifestyle programs utilize coaching in various forms, including phone calls, video chat, text messaging, or in-person sessions. Some programs have replaced some or all of these traditionally human-delivered touchpoints with AI or rules-based interactions.

TACTICS
Behavior Substitution
Behavior substitution refers to attempting to eliminate a problematic behavior by replacing it with another one. Often, the substituted behaviors are intended to have similar sensory qualities (e.g. drink flavored sparkling water instead of soda). The goal is typically to disassociate the original behavior from its cue, enabling the more positive behavior to be triggered automatically.

TACTICS
Active Choice
Active choice, sometimes referred to as enhanced active choice or forced choice, refers to removing default options and often increasing the salience of potential decisions through emphasizing the consequences of one or more of the options. Coined by Punam Anand Keller and colleagues in 2011, it was originally intended to address concerns around paternalistic nudging for use in situations where forcing the default option may be considered unethical. In one of the original studies, CVS customers were given the choice to enroll in automatic refills of medications via delivery. The choices they were presented were ""Enroll in refills at home"" vs “I Prefer to Order my Own Refills.”

TACTICS
Change Effort
Changing effort refers to modifying the difficulty, or sometimes perceived difficulty, of a behavior in order to change its likelihood of occurrence. This often entails making a behavior easier by reducing its intensity or frequency. This is a tactic advocated by BJ Fogg’s model of behavior change.

TACTICS
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a therapuetic approach to improving mental and behavioral health. The core philosophy is that behavior can be modified by noticing and correcting patterns in thought that influence the behavior. Modern CBT is typically associated with Albert Ellis and Alan Beck.The structured and rules-based nature of CBT have made it a popular candidate for digital interventions and application by lightly-trained or even untrained practitioners.

TACTICS
Checklists
Checklists are an age-old tactic for remembering to do certain tasks. Checklists are sometimes used to measure behaviors that should take place with a certain frequency, e.g. every day or X times per week, and other times, to ensure certain steps are followed every time a person does a complex behavior.For behavior designers, the challenges of checklists often entail choosing the right behaviors, breaking them down to the correct level of granularity for a given population, and serving them up in the proper context or sometimes with personalization. They are likely underutilized and consistently improve the performance of even experts, like pilots and surgeons.
Products that change behavior

PRODUCTS
Aduri
Behaviors
Mental Health & Self-Care

PRODUCTS
Acorns
Behaviors
Savings
Tactics
Framing Effects, Reduce Friction or Barriers, Automation +2 more

PRODUCTS
Aaptiv
PRODUCTS
Accupedo
Behaviors
Physical Activity
Tactics
Education or Information, Reminders, Cues +3 more

PRODUCTS
Accion
PRODUCTS
ALICE
Behaviors
Medication Adherence
PRODUCTS
2Morrow Smoking Cessation Program
Behaviors
Smoking Cessation
Tactics
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Behavioral Activation (BA)
Models
ACT

PRODUCTS
2Morrow Stress (and Anxiety) Program
Behaviors
Mental Health & Self-Care
Tactics
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Behavioral Activation (BA)
Models
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Research on behavior change
PAPERS
Continuous glucose monitoring counseling improves physical activity behaviors of individuals with type 2 diabetes: A randomized clinical trial.
BEHAVIOR
Physical Activity, Disease Management
PAPERS
Physical activity with spiritual strategies intervention: a cluster randomized trial with older African American women.
BEHAVIOR
Physical Activity
TACTICS
Spirituality
PAPERS
The PULSE (Prevention Using LifeStyle Education) trial protocol: a randomised controlled trial of a Type 2 Diabetes Prevention programme for men.
BEHAVIOR
Physical Activity, Diet & Nutrition
PAPERS
Interrupting pathways to sepsis: Effectiveness of an intervention to reduce delays in timely care for sick children in rural Bangladesh.
BEHAVIOR
Other
PAPERS
Designing prenatal care messages for low-income Mexican women.
BEHAVIOR
Other
TACTICS
Education or Information
PAPERS
The effects of a multimodal intervention trial to promote lifestyle factors associated with the prevention of cardiovascular disease in menopausal and postmenopausal Australian women.
BEHAVIOR
Physical Activity
PAPERS
The Effectiveness of Prompts to Promote Engagement With Digital Interventions: A Systematic Review.
BEHAVIOR
Other
PAPERS
A comparison of two delivery modalities of a mobile phone based assessment for serious mental illness: native smartphone application vs text-messaging only implementations.
BEHAVIOR
Mental Health & Self-Care
PAPERS
Nutrition education worksite intervention for university staff: application of the health belief model.
BEHAVIOR
Diet & Nutrition