A Brief Guide to Behaviour Change
An introduction to understanding and implementing behaviour change. Read more about the Wales Centre for Behaviour Change.
Isolated Achievements
What is it? We all have an inborn need to master skills and track progress towards goals. Life in lockdown can make obtaining a sense of achievement harder, given many ways in which we usually seek challenge are now inaccessible, and typical assessments of progression have been transformed. Even as controls are eased, the ongoing restrictions provide frustrating constraints on our behaviour. Making achievements is a key psychological need…
Take Back Control – How to Support Autonomy
What is it? A recent review on the impact of quarantine on our mental health indicates social isolation may prompt emotional difficulties such as depression, stress and anger1. However, the authors also suggest a number of factors can mitigate against these outcomes. In particular, supporting individuals’ sense of autonomy – or helping them to feel in…
Embracing Contact Tracing
What is Contact Tracing? In a bid to control the spread of Coronavirus, the UK government have initiated the development of ‘contact tracing’ technology. Those who become infected can report their diagnosis using a smartphone app, which will then notify anyone with whom they have had significant and recent contact. This technology is particularly useful…
Incentives
What is it? Reward and punishment have long been used to direct behaviour. However, introducing extrinsic motivational consequences such as these can fundamentally change how we view a situation, in turn altering our motivation and subsequent action. As such, they must be carefully applied in order to be effective, and to avoid pitfalls which drive unintended behaviour. For example, the introduction of a monetary fine for parents who are late to collect their children…
Reappraisal: harnessing emotions to help, not hinder, our actions
What is it? We like to think of ourselves as rational beings, who act based on a cost-benefit analysis of options. However, emotional responses have a profound influence on our behaviour1. In fact, when we are stressed, fatigued or dealing with complexity, we are more heavily driven by emotional impulses than considered thought2. Leaders need to…
Finding Forty Two
What is it? Life in lockdown means many of the constants which normally structure our existence have been removed. Most of the country will not be travelling to work, or enjoying typical leisure and sporting activities. Those who are furloughed face even greater disruption to routine, and the inability to pursue tasks which usually give life…
Review so far: How do we improve behavioural compliance?
We’ve had several weeks of lockdown in the UK in an effort to reduce the rapid spread of COVID-19. How have we performed and how can we Improve? One of the most powerful impacts on behaviour is role-modelling. We imitate and try to emulate those in authority and those we respect. However, we are also…
Futurelessness
What is it? To encourage universal adherence to government guidelines, we must communicate effectively with those who are disproportionately affected by Covid-19, or who do not respond as intended to traditional messaging. For example, those living in poverty are more likely to work in low-paid casual jobs which have been heavily impacted by Covid-19, and…
Internalising Motivation: Behave Because We Want To!
What is it? We often discuss either ‘having’ or ‘lacking’ motivation as a core driver of behaviour. However, motivation can also exist in several different forms which dictate not only whether we we initiate action, but also how committed we are1. There are various forms of motivation described in a framework known as the internalisation continuum2. The important…