A practical guide to effective behavior change : How to identify what to change in the first place

ehps.net/ehp In 1947, mathematician John von Neuman remarked that mathematics is simple, supporting this claim with a comparison with something infinitely more complicated: "If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is" (Alt, 1972). Behavior change scientists who study behavior change or who develop behavior change interventions operate in between these two extremes of overwhelming complexity and, well, at least relative simplicity. Effective behavior change methods (Peters, de Bruin, & Crutzen, 2014) employ theorybased1 processes of change to influence psychological variables that are postulated to determine behavior. Because, bar physical coercion, no behavior change method operates directly on behavior, this means that identifying the relevant determinants and beliefs to influence is a crucial step in the development, or evaluation, of any behavior change method/technique. The current contribution intends to pave the way for more in-depth discussion of behavior change by outlining basic guidelines for establishing which determinants, and, maybe even more importantly, which beliefs, to influence. This document has been set up to be useful when explaining the basics of behavior change to, for example, students, early-career Ph.D. candidates, or practitioners. Therefore, it will start with outlining, assuming very little knowledge of psychology, why it is imperative to map beliefs and determinants before even thinking about how to change a given behavior. In the second part, practical pointers will be given as to how to actually do this – map beliefs and determinants. In other words, first I’ll explain what to change; and then, how to identify what to change.