As user researchers, we're in the business of understanding (and often trying to change) people's behaviour. While the research we do is an excellent tool for this, we can have even more impact if we stand on the shoulders of the academic giants who spend years trying to understand human behaviour. Behavioural science is the systematic study of human behaviour, and how to change it. It therefore provides us with evidence, theories, frameworks, and methods that can supercharge our user research. In this talk, Rosie will talk about some of these different behavioural science tools, and provide examples of their use in practice.

1. Increasing your impact with
behavioural science
@DrRosieW
Dr Rosie Webster
Science Lead, zinc.vc
Feb 2022

2. About Zinc
Bringing together social science with
the startup world
Flagship: Venture Builder programme
@DrRosieW

3. Outline
What is Behavioural Science?
The Behavioural Science Toolkit
The Toolkit in action
@DrRosieW

4. What is Behavioural Science?
@DrRosieW

5. Behavioural science is the
systematic study of human behaviour,
and how to change it
Helps us to understand behaviour,
gives us evidence based ways to
change it, and methods for measuring
our impact and learning from this
@DrRosieW
@DrRosieW

6. Why should user researchers
care about it?!
@DrRosieW
Online supermarket shoppers to
do weekly meal planning
Homeowners to providing
monthly meter readings
Older drivers using your ride
share app instead of driving
Fintech app users setting a
weekly budget

7. Why should user researchers
care about it?!
- User research lays the foundation for
designing behaviour change products
- Bringing in behavioural science to your
research will help to maximise the
chances of success in creating change
- We cannot change what we don’t
understand
@DrRosieW

8. The Behavioural Science toolkit
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9. The Behavioural Science toolkit
Methods
Adding methods such as
literature reviewing to
your existing UR toolkit
Theories &
frameworks
Using existing theories
of behaviour to enhance
your research
Techniques &
interventions
Tried & tested ways to
intervene to change
behaviour
@DrRosieW

10. Methods
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11. Literature reviewing
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12. Literature reviewing: top tips
Google Scholar is your
best friend
Try a variety of search
terms. Also look at
references and citations
@DrRosieW
Look for recent
reviews
Systematic reviews &
meta-analyses from
the last 5-10 years
Various options for
access
“Unpaywall” chrome
plugin; Research Gate;
friendly academics

13. Interviewing: getting to the
bottom of the problem
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14. Theories & frameworks
@DrRosieW

15. Credit: Michie et al. 2011
Behaviour
Capability
Motivation
Opportunity
@DrRosieW
COM-B

16. CREATE
Credit: Stephen Wendel (2020)
@DrRosieW

17. Self-Determination Theory
Image credit: Cook & Artino (2016)
@DrRosieW

18. Friction & Fuel
Credit: Center for Advanced Hindsight
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19. The toolkit in action
@DrRosieW

20. Choosing the right framework
- Behaviours outside of products: COM-B
- Behaviours in/with products: CREATE
- Motivation-focussed: Self-Determination
Theory
- Decision making: Friction & Fuel
@DrRosieW

21. Using COM-B for qual research
@DrRosieW
Have you ever tried to reduce your salt intake?
Why/why not?
Capability
Motivation
Opportunity
Which foods do you think are high in salt?
How are your cooking skills - what kind of things can you cook?
Where do you tend to buy groceries from, and why?
What kind of foods do your family tend to eat?
How motivated do you feel to reduce your salt intake, and why?
What types of food do you most enjoy?

22. Using COM-B for qual research
Tell me about the last time you had a meal
high in salt - can you walk me through what
happened?
It was probably on Friday when I last had a
takeaway after work. I wanted to pick something
up for dinner on the way home - but I’d left too
late, so the shop was shut. When I got home, I
looked in the fridge at the few bits of veg I had
left, but I’m no good at creating my own recipes
so I knew I couldn’t cook. I was tired and
stressed, and to be honest I was just really
craving a pizza, so I just ordered Dominos.
@DrRosieW

23. Using COM-B for qual research
Tell me about the last time you had a meal
high in salt - can you walk me through what
happened?
It was probably on Friday when I last had a
takeaway after work. I wanted to pick something
up for dinner on the way home - but I’d left too
late, so the shop was shut. When I got home, I
looked in the fridge at the few bits of veg I had
left, but I’m no good at creating my own recipes
so I knew I couldn’t cook. I was tired and
stressed, and to be honest I was just really
craving a pizza, so I just ordered Dominos.
@DrRosieW
Capability
Motivation
Opportunity

24. Lit reviewing to understand
covid vaccine behaviour
@DrRosieW

25. Key takeaways:
Behavioural science help us to
understand, and change, behaviour
Literature reviewing can help to
guide your research and bring a lot
of knowledge in a short amount of
time
Frameworks & theories can
enhance and deepen our existing
user research
@DrRosieW
@DrRosieW

26. Books you should read
Link here Link here
@DrRosieW
Link here

27. Questions?
Dr Rosie Webster
Science Lead, zinc.vc
@DrRosieW

28. Title
Body
@DrRosieW