Reset: An Introduction to Behavior Centered Design

Many of us would like to change one or more of our own behaviors, or those of others. Governments and public health officials frequently initiate programs to promote behavior change on a broad scale. But behavior change is difficult, and success frequently eludes us.

Reset: An Introduction to Behavior Centered Design presents a new framework for achieving behavior change that draws on recent advances in neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and ecological psychology. Behavior Centered Design provides a behavioral model derived from reinforcement learning theory, develops a fundamental taxonomy of needs based in evolutionary biology, shows how the disruption of behavior settings is key, and lays out the steps involved in programming for behavior change. Part 1 of Reset begins with an in-depth presentation of the theory behind the model - such as how BCD conceptualizes behavior change - and emphasizes the key principles of surprise, revaluation, and performance. Part 2 is a step-by-step manual for conceiving, creating, implementing, and evaluating a behavior change program. Numerous real-life examples are provided, as well as additional resources to support mastery of the BCD approach. Applied successfully to a range of public health behaviors as well as in commercial product design and marketing, the BCD approach encourages behavior change practitioners to think differently about behavior - both in understanding how and why it is produced, and in how to design programs to change it.

Robert Aunger, PhD, is Associate Professor in Evolutionary Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. For over a decade he has helped implement research - and large-scale public health projects in Africa and Asia, including designing creative materials for mass media and community activation. He has held grants from the Economic and Social Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the National Science Foundation, the Hygiene Council and the Department for International Development. He has also consulted on behavior change for the World Bank, UNICEF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Kimberly Clark, and Reckitt Benckiser.