Behavioural Change

Behavioural change is far more complex than most people realise. It doesn't happen overnight, and giving advice or solutions may not help.

As creatures of habit, we prefer sticking to what we're familiar and comfortable with, rather than creating new routines. But growth can't happen if we don't challenge ourselves to try new things and be uncomfortable with the unfamiliar.

The good news is that there’s been a lot of research into this field, and frameworks developed. We’ve described 4 key ones below. Some have their origins in areas such as healthcare and marketing, but they’re nevertheless applicable more generally. What’s clear and common across all frameworks is that it’s not enough to have a goal, but having the right mindset, a plan, and the initiative to get started!

A trained coach facilitates by clarifying goals, breaking them down into smaller, manageable steps, and overcoming self-doubts and inertia in taking action. A coach also serves as an accountability partner in maintaining commitment to their coachee's action plans and reviewing the learning points from the experience.

COMBI model

The Communication for Behavioural impact (COMBI) model of HICDARM describes 7 stages of behavioural change. Critically, it highlights that there’s often a gap between one being convinced that something is worth doing, and finally deciding to do something. It also highlights the importance of reconfirming that the actions taken are positive, which can help to maintain the change.

COM-B model

The COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation - Behaviour, not the same as COMBI above) says that all 3 aspects of the model must be present for effective behavioural change - one must know how to perform the action(s), have the opportunities to do so, and must be motivated to do so.

Azjen's theory of planned behaviour

Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour focuses on the factors behind one’s behavioural intent, such as attitudes, perceptions and norms. It has been applied in many areas, such as students’ use of social media. In short, the stronger or more positive these factors are, the more likely it is for us to perform our desired behaviour. Thus, it may be useful to examine our own attitudes and perceptions first before, say, attempting any big changes.

Stages of change model

The Transtheoretical or Stages of Change Model describes 6 stages that people need to cycle through to change their own behaviour - (i) precontemplation, (ii) contemplation, (iii) preparation, (iv) action, (v) maintenance and (vi) relapse. A nice feature of this model is that it explicitly accounts for the possibility of relapse, but it ignores the social context in which behavioural change takes place.

If you’re dying to get started on your goal, you may want to try the following:

• A free 5-day programme called Tiny Habits (from Dr Fogg of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University).

• A free 30-day email course called Atomic Habits. It also comes in an app called Atoms.

Let us know what you think of these after trying them (we’re not affiliated).