UCL Centre for Behaviour Change

2️⃣ Why is generalizability so tricky?
Because it has:
– Many dimensions (population, setting, outcome, etc.)
– Complex interactions between them
– Dynamic change over time

👇

Generalizability of choice architecture interventions Nature Reviews Psychology - Choice architecture interventions (or ‘nudges’) aim to guide behaviour by changing the proximal physical, social or psychological environment. In this...

🧵 Can you predict whether behavioral interventions will work in new contexts?

… probably not, right?

In our new paper with @dggoldst.bsky.social @dilipsoman.bsky.social @susanmichie.bsky.social, we dive into how to better understand and improve generalizability. rdcu.be/ewD2z

Summary👇

Although a ‘nudge’ can be highly effective in some conditions, it can be ineffective or counterproductive in others...the average effectiveness is smaller than often reported and there is substantial heterogeneity in their effects. Read more in a new article Barnabas Szaszi, Daniel G. Goldstein, Dilip Soman & Susan Michie.

🚨A new paper presents evidence that the average effectiveness of a 'nudge' (choice architecture intervention) is smaller than often reported and that there is substantial heterogeneity in their effects.
🔗 Read the open-access article here: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
@susanmichie.bsky.social

An ontological framework for organising and describing behaviours: The Human Behaviour Ontology, wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/9-2... - an important new paper for all behavioural scientists, allowing a coherent, extensive, computer-readable representation of behaviour in all its complexities.

BR-UK Commissioning Fund To Launch | Behavioural Research UK (BR-UK) | Usher Institute BR-UK’S Commissioning Fund will open to applications on July 1st, 2025.

🔍 Are you an early career behavioural researcher? Our Accelerator proposals offer up to £50,000 for innovative projects! 💡 Perfect for kickstarting your research journey. Applications open July 1st—closing August 12th, 2025. Get ready to apply! #ECR #Innovation #BRUKFunding

BR-UK Commissioning Fund To Launch | Behavioural Research UK (BR-UK) | Usher Institute BR-UK’S Commissioning Fund will open to applications on July 1st, 2025.

🤖 Explore AI in Behavioural Research! Funding available to advance how best to integrate human and AI contributions in behavioural research. Are you ready to innovate? Applications open July 1st, 2025! #AIResearch #BRUKFunding #Innovation
usher.ed.ac.uk/behavioural-...

Q. What makes the intermediate course unique? A. I think the attractiveness of the course is having mentoring in small groups to discuss how to apply one's learnings to one's own situation and having a well structured course, linking theory to practical application. (Susan Michie)

Q. What advice would you give to someone thinking about joining? A. Come ready to throw yourself into it! It’s a great chance to be surrounded by others applying the same concepts in different ways. Make the most of your time with tutors and mentors - and keep linking the learning back to your own work. (Dr Danielle D'Lima)

International Training Programme Intermediate Course: Applied Principles and Practice of Behaviour Change. 8-12 September 2025. UCL Centre for Behaviour Change.

Just a few spaces left on our Applied Principles & Practice of Behaviour Change course.
💻 Online & interactive
📅 8-12 Sept
What makes it so enjoyable? Insightful discussions, small-group mentoring & a brilliant mix of participants. Join us?
🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-ch...

@susanmichie.bsky.social

Commissioning Fund | Behavioural Research UK (BR-UK) | Usher Institute Information about the Fund and how to apply

📊 Project Proposals Open! Up to £300,000 for behavioural research projects on AI, knowledge integration, & explaining variation in effective interventions. EOIs due July 31st. 🌟 #ResearchFunding #BRUK

As part of the NIHR-funded project Situating co-design: developing inclusive practice for healthcare, we are delighted to welcome Dr Ashfaq Chauhan, Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, to QMUL. Dr Chauhan’s work focuses on developing equity-centred co-design approaches to improve healthcare for ethnic minority communities in Australia. His research addresses strategies to enhance medication safety, care continuity, co-ordination, and advance care planning. In this lecture, he will reflect on how to meaningfully engage diverse communities in co-design processes and translate these approaches across healthcare settings. To book, please email Ms Nevena Balezdrova: n.balezdrova@qmul.ac.uk

Curious about #CoDesign?
Join our Research Fellow @dramandamoore-cbc.bsky.social at QMUL for a guest lecture by Dr Ashfaq Chauhan on engaging diverse communities in co-design & applying it across healthcare.

📅 Mon 7 July | 13:30-14:30
📍 In-person at QMUL, Whitechapel
📧 RSVP: n.balezdrova@qmul.ac.uk

CBC's Co Director Fabiana Lorencatto Promoted to Professor of Behavioural & Implementation Sciences Congratulations to Fabiana Lorencatto, Co Director of the UCL Centre for Behaviour Change (CBC), who has been promoted to Professor of Behavioural and Implementation Sciences.

🎉 Congratulations to our Co-Director Fabiana Lorencatto on her promotion to Professor of Behavioural and Implementation Sciences!
A fantastic achievement - we're excited for what the future holds for Prof Lorencatto and the CBC.
🔗 Read more: www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-ch...
@susanmichie.bsky.social

I've just launched the latest episode in the Unlocking Behaviour Change podcast series, and it is the very first public airing of a new general framework for understanding and analysing real-world decisions - called FACET. So do check it out and leave comments. www.podbean.com/ep/pb-tgudh-...

YouTube video by Human Behaviour Change Project Instructions on how to use the HBCP Prediction Tool

The Human Behaviour Change Project 'Prediction Tool' has just had a revamp. It uses interpretable machine learning applied to rich ontologised data extracted from ~500 RCTs to predict smoking cessation outcomes in novel scenarios. Here's a link to a video about the tool youtu.be/fUvfXmeZhnM

Behind the Screen with Dr Lucy Porter. Lucy is a lecturer and researcher at the CBC. We chat to her about the upcoming intermediate training course, which Lucy is leading on.

Q. One word to describe the intermediate training course? A. One word is too hard! I would say 'broadening perspectives' (mine as well as attendees’!). Q. One item you couldn’t get through the week without? A. Can I say my husband for doing all the cooking?!

Q. A highlight from previous years? A. Keeping in touch with attendees who have started embedding behaviour change in their work. Q. What’s open on your desk during the week? A. I like to have a notepad on hand to jot down ideas and questions for the interactive sessions.

Q. What do you enjoy most about the intermediate course? A. Getting to know the course attendees and hearing their questions throughout the week. We are joined by attendees with a variety of different roles and backgrounds, which means that Q&A time brings out lots of fresh perspectives and interpretations that help all of us to deepen our thinking.

Behind the Screen: We quiz Dr Lucy Porter on everything from course highlights to her go-to snack as we get ready for our popular intermediate course!
📅 8–12 Sept | 💻 Online
🔍 Apply behavioural science to real-world challenges
👉 Last few spaces: www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-ch...
@susanmichie.bsky.social

Please share: @robertjwest.bsky.social @susanmichie.bsky.social @jannahastings.bsky.social @carolinacsilva.bsky.social @mayabraun.bsky.social @martamarques.bsky.social @mindandmatter.bsky.social @ucl-cbc.bsky.social

MSc Behaviour Change MSc Behaviour Change

👏 Congratulations to lead author Anna Tirion, who developed this paper from her MSc Behaviour Change thesis, supervised by CBC's Danielle D'Lima & Leslie M Gutman, in collaboration with Julia Terlet and Ramya Rao from Behaven.
🔗 MSc Behaviour Change: www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

🌱 Which behaviour change techniques are most effective in encouraging sustainable food consumption?
New systematic review just published in Appetite by MSc Behaviour Change alumna Anna Tirion:
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Our next introductory course starts 6 October:
🔗 www.futurelearn.com/courses/beha...

All CBC training courses:
🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-ch...

Congratulations to our latest cohort of behaviour change course participants!

🎉 Congratulations to our latest cohort on completing 'Behaviour Change Interventions: Introductory Principles & Practice'!
Over the last 4 weeks, you covered COM-B, BCW & behaviour change techniques. Thanks for your engagement - we hope you enjoyed it!
@susanmichie.bsky.social

📢 New from @behaviourresuk.bsky.social: a must-read report on the state of behavioural research in the UK and guidance for strengthening the field moving forward.
🔗 era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/ha...

@susanmichie.bsky.social ‪‪

How populist-aligned views affect receipt of non-COVID-19-related public health interventions: a systematic review of quantitative studies - BMC Public Health Background Globally, there is increasing evidence of resistance to government-led public health interventions in areas such as vaccination, climate change mitigation, sexual and reproductive healthcar...

🆕 Our new paper is out today in @biomedcentral.bsky.social‬ Public Health!

We reviewed 30 studies across OECD countries to understand how attitudes like distrust in institutions might shape how people engage with public health efforts.

We found that...

The work highlights the opportunity for banks and fintech companies to embed behavioural science in their strategies - helping people to take meaningful action for the planet 🌍
Co-supervised by @viviantonop.bsky.social & Sabrina Gill

Two mobile phones, showing examples of carbon footprint report technology. The left screen shows a breakdown of carbon emissions by month on different categories (shopping, food, travel, others), as well as by individual transactions. The right screen shows compares the user's carbon emissions compared to the UK average, and breaks this down by category.

We're proud to share new research led by MSc Behaviour Change alumna Marilena Schnorrenberg. They used the COM-B model to explore the barriers & facilitators to engage with carbon footprint reports via banking apps.
🔗 Read the paper: www.emerald.com/insight/cont...

We also have the last few places remaining on our Principles & Practice of Systems Mapping course on 3 July!
🔗https://www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-change/advanced-modules-behaviour-change
@viviantonop.bsky.social @robertjwest.bsky.social

Looking for other advanced training? On 1 July join Prof @robertjwest.bsky.social for an in-depth guide to decision-making and motivation, with plenty of time for discussion and interactivity.
🔗https://www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-change/advanced-modules-behaviour-change

🧠 Bonus for early birds!
Register early for the BCTO training and get first access to a free workshop with Prof @robertjwest.bsky.social on the CACTISS Tool - a practical, step-by-step method to identify aspects of capability, opportunity & motivation to target - and how to use it to select BCTs.

📢 New advanced training alert!
Join experts from the @hbcproject.bsky.social for a full-day online course on improving methods for selecting & specifying behaviour change techniques using the Behaviour Change Techniques Ontology
🗓️ 22 & 23 October, 12:30-4:30pm
🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-ch...

Read this article on our ESRC funded research into the 2024 summer riots and sign up for our webinar on June 10th at 11am to hear more detail about our findings and their implications.
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Next month we're looking forward to: BR-UK logo, with text: BR-UK Webinar 10 June at 11am: Understanding the 2024 English riots: Insights into social unrest and racial dynamics APRICOT Ontology Tools logo, with text: APRICOT online launch 17 June at 3:30pm International Training Programme logo, with text: Getting ready for our advanced modules: 1 July: Influencing decision making & motivation’ 3 July: Systems mapping

🗓️Looking ahead to June:

@behaviourresuk.bsky.social webinar on 2024 UK riots, 10 June:
🔗 us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

@hbcproject.bsky.social online launch, 17 June:
🔗 ucl.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Preparing for our advanced training - spaces still available!
🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-ch...

Image advertising a webinar on 'Responsible use of AI in behavioural research' with 3 speakers. Image caption: The final BR-UK webinar on AI in behavioural research. Image of Katryn Wright. Image caption: MSc alumna Katryn Wright (MD at MoreThanNow) spoke to our current MSc Behaviour Change cohort about her work & career.

Susan also spoke at a BR-UK webinar with @robertjwest.bsky.social & @jannahastings.bsky.social on AI in behavioural research
🔗 usher.ed.ac.uk/behavioural-...

MSc alumna Katryn Wright (MD at MoreThanNow) spoke to our current MSc cohort about her career
🔗 ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

Image of Susan giving a keynote at the Psychology, Health & Medicine Conference in Belfast. Image of a speaker and audience. Image caption: Sadie attended the launch of the National Research Hub on Net Zero, Health and Extreme Heat (HEARTH).

@sadieboniface.bsky.social attended the launch of HEARTH – the new national hub on Net Zero, Health & Extreme Heat
🔗 ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-ch...

@susanmichie.bsky.social gave a keynote at #PHM2025 in Belfast, sharing work from @HBCProject
🔗 www.humanbehaviourchange.org