The NIH Science of Behavior Change Program: Transforming the science through a focus on mechanisms of change

Abstract

The goal of the NIH Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Common Fund Program is to provide the basis for an experimental medicine approach to behavior change that focuses on identifying and measuring the mechanisms that underlie behavioral patterns we are trying to change. This paper frames the development of the program within a discussion of the substantial disease burden in the U.S. attributable to behavioral factors, and details our strategies for breaking down the disease- and condition-focused silos in the behavior change field to accelerate discovery and translation. These principles serve as the foundation for our vision for a unified science of behavior change at the NIH and in the broader research community.

Keywords: Experimental medicine approach; Interpersonal processes; Mechanisms of behavior change; Science of behavior change; Self-regulation; Stress.

Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Figures

Fig. 1

Proposed continuum of research on neurobiological variables in behavior change research.

Fig. 2

Percentage of grants testing mechanisms of behavior change (MoBC), by phase.

Fig. 3

Intervention pipeline for behavior change pre- and post-SOBC, as compared to the pipeline for drug development in biomedicine.

Fig. 4

Experimental medicine approach to behavior change.