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

MODELS
Self-Determination Theory
TYPE
Behavior model
PEOPLE
Richard Ryan, Edward Deci

MODELS
Intervention Design Process
TYPE
Behavior design process / heuristics
PEOPLE
Matt Wallaert

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
Behavioral Design Process
TYPE
Behavior design process / heuristics
PEOPLE
Anthony Barrows, Natalie Dabney, Jon Hayes, Rachel Rosenberg
ORGANIZATION
ideas42

MODELS
Behavioural Drivers Model
TYPE
Behavior model
PEOPLE
Vincent Petit
ORGANIZATION
UNICEF

MODELS
Social Cognitive Theory
TYPE
Behavior model
PEOPLE
Albert Bandura
Tactics that change behavior

TACTICS
Clawback Incentives
Clawback incentives refer to a framing effect applied to rewards where participants are intended to experience losing the reward via noncompliance rather than accruing it for successful performance of the behavior.For example, a hypertension management program may credit its participants $200 at the beginning of the month, and reduce or "claw back" the amount by $3 each time the patient does not take their medication. The alternative would be starting the month at zero or the previous ballance and adding $3 each time the patient takes the medication.

TACTICS
Commitment Devices
Commitment devices are tools that attempt to bridge the gap between a person's initial motivation to perfrom the behavior and the typical pattern of noncompliance as time goes on.One prominent example is the "Ulysses Pact," where Filipino banking customers were offered the option to enroll in an account where their ability to make withdrawals would be limited. In a study by Ashraf and Karlan (2005), participants with the commitment account saved 81% more than those with typical accounts. There are many other examples of commitment devices. Temptation bundling is a form of commitment device where people only engage in an enjoyable activity when it's simultaneous with an activity they intend to do more (for example, only listening to a certain podcast or audiobook while walking on a treadmill). Pre-paying for a service is a basic form of commitment device, and one used by Dan Ariely when he intended to increase his fruit and vegetable consumption. He paid for a year of biweekly deliveries from a local CSA program up-front.

TACTICS
Behavioral Economics
Behavioral economics is the exploration of how people make consequential decisions where psychological and sociological factors may influence the outcome or process. It is often considered the fusion of economics and psychology (which itself was an interdisciplinary field entailing medicine and philosophy). The exploration of psychological factors in economic decision-making, including deviation from rationality, traces well back to classical and neoclassical economics (i.e. Gabriel Tarde, Wilfredo Pareto, and John Maynard Keynes) and prior to psychology becoming a formal discipline. Behavioral economics is often associated with behavior change tactics like smart defaults, reducing friction or barriers, increasing salience, incentives, active choice, and commitment devices.

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
Education or Information
Education refers to empowering a person with more knowledge or training than they had previously. While providing information alone is often a suboptimal way to drive meaningful behavior change or long-term interventions, the right message at the right time can be a powerful part of a behavior change strategy.

TACTICS
AI or Chatbot
Using a chatbot or simulated conversational interaction.
Products that change behavior

PRODUCTS
Acorns
Behaviors
Savings
Tactics
Framing Effects, Reduce Friction or Barriers, Automation +2 more
PRODUCTS
Accupedo
Behaviors
Physical Activity
Tactics
Education or Information, Reminders, Cues +3 more

PRODUCTS
Aaptiv

PRODUCTS
Accion

PRODUCTS
Aduri
Behaviors
Mental Health & Self-Care
PRODUCTS
ActiveLifestyle

PRODUCTS
AbleTo
Behaviors
Mental Health & Self-Care
Tactics
Personalization, Skill Coaching, Coaching or Counselling
PRODUCTS
2Morrow Chronic Pain Program
Behaviors
Mental Health & Self-Care, Other, Disease Management
Tactics
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Behavioral Activation (BA)
Models
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Research on behavior change
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
Pathway to health: cluster-randomized trial to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among smokers in public housing.
BEHAVIOR
Diet & Nutrition
TACTICS
Motivational Interviewing
PAPERS
Increasing screening mammography in asymptomatic women: evaluation of a second-generation, theory-based program.
BEHAVIOR
Other
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
A Digital Diabetes Prevention Program (Transform) for Adults With Prediabetes: Secondary Analysis
PRODUCT
Transform
BEHAVIOR
Physical Activity, Diet & Nutrition
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
Physical activity with spiritual strategies intervention: a cluster randomized trial with older African American women.
BEHAVIOR
Physical Activity
TACTICS
Spirituality
PAPERS
The Effectiveness of Prompts to Promote Engagement With Digital Interventions: A Systematic Review.
BEHAVIOR
Other
PAPERS
Designing prenatal care messages for low-income Mexican women.
BEHAVIOR
Other
TACTICS
Education or Information