Behavior Architecture: Understanding Human Behavior Course

Lesson 1 • Systems Thinking in Behaviour

Frames behaviour as an output of interacting biological, psychological, and social systems. Builds the integrative lens used in all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 2 • Biological Drivers of Behaviour

Covers neurological and genetic influences on action and decision-making. Connects brain structure to everyday behavioural patterns.

Lesson 3 • Defining Human Behaviour

Clarifies what counts as behaviour versus attitude or belief. Anchors the entire course in precise, measurable definitions.

Lesson 4 • Social and Cultural Influences

Examines how group norms, culture, and environment shape individual behaviour. Prepares students to analyse behaviour in organisational contexts.

Lesson 1 • Classical Conditioning Models

Explains stimulus-response learning and its applications in real-world settings. Grounds students in the oldest empirically validated behaviour model.

Lesson 2 • Social Learning and Modelling

Presents Bandura's social learning theory and observational learning mechanisms. Explains how behaviour spreads through groups and organisations.

Lesson 3 • Transtheoretical and Stage Models

Covers readiness-to-change frameworks and stage-based behaviour progression. Equips students to match interventions to an individual's change stage.

Lesson 4 • Cognitive-Behavioural Models

Introduces the thought-feeling-behaviour triangle and cognitive restructuring concepts. Bridges biological foundations to practical intervention design.

Lesson 1 • Self-Regulation and Willpower

Examines how people monitor and control their own behaviour over time. Addresses why motivation alone is insufficient without regulatory capacity.

Lesson 2 • Expectancy and Value Theories

Explains how perceived probability and reward value drive effort allocation. Enables prediction of whether a person will attempt a behaviour.

Lesson 3 • Goal-Setting Theory and Practice

Covers Locke and Latham's goal-setting principles and their empirical support. Translates directly into performance and behaviour change goal design.

Lesson 4 • Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

Distinguishes internal drives from external incentives and their differential effects. Informs reward system design in applied behaviour architecture.

Lesson 1 • Debiasing Strategies

Presents evidence-based techniques to reduce the impact of cognitive biases. Bridges cognitive theory to practical behaviour design interventions.

Lesson 2 • Social and Conformity Biases

Examines how social pressure distorts individual judgement and decision-making. Connects to group behaviour dynamics explored in later chapters.

Lesson 3 • Loss Aversion and Prospect Theory

Explains why losses loom larger than equivalent gains in human decision-making. Directly informs incentive and consequence design in behaviour architecture.

Lesson 4 • Judgement Heuristics and Errors

Covers availability, representativeness, and anchoring heuristics in depth. Enables practitioners to spot and counteract predictable judgement errors.

Lesson 1 • Reward Systems and Reinforcement

Analyses how reward timing, type, and variability affect habit consolidation. Directly applies operant conditioning models to real habit design.

Lesson 2 • Routine Building and Stacking

Teaches methods for designing and sequencing new behavioural routines. Connects cue design to the full habit loop construction process.

Lesson 3 • Breaking Unwanted Habits

Provides strategies for disrupting entrenched habit loops and replacing them. Completes the full habit architecture toolkit for practitioners.

Lesson 4 • Cue and Trigger Design

Covers how to identify, create, and modify behavioural cues in any environment. Enables practitioners to architect the starting point of any habit loop.

Lesson 1 • Influence and Persuasion Principles

Covers Cialdini's influence principles and their behavioural mechanisms. Equips students to design persuasive environments and communications.

Lesson 2 • Cooperation and Conflict Dynamics

Explores the behavioural conditions that produce cooperation or conflict in groups. Connects social dynamics to organisational behaviour design challenges.

Lesson 3 • Use

Shows how social network structure amplifies or dampens behavioural spread. Enables students to leverage network position in behaviour change campaigns.

Lesson 4 • Group Norms and Social Pressure

Examines how descriptive and injunctive norms regulate group member behaviour. Enables norm-based intervention design for teams and communities.

Lesson 1 • Environmental Behaviour Design

Covers physical and digital environment modifications that prompt target behaviours. Translates abstract nudge theory into concrete design decisions.

Lesson 2 • Messaging and Communication Design

Applies framing, loss aversion, and social proof to behaviour-change messaging. Connects cognitive bias knowledge to practical communication strategy.

Lesson 3 • Testing and Iterating Nudge Designs

Introduces rapid prototyping and A/B testing methods for behavioural interventions. Ensures students can validate and refine designs using real behavioural data.

Lesson 4 • Choice Architecture Fundamentals

Introduces how the structure of choices shapes decisions without restricting options. Establishes the design philosophy underlying all nudge interventions.

Lesson 1 • Scaling Behavioural Interventions

Covers the principles and pitfalls of expanding successful small-scale programmes. Prepares students to translate pilot results into organisation-wide impact.

Lesson 2 • Data Collection Methods

Covers observation, self-report, and passive data collection for behaviour measurement. Equips students to choose the most valid method for each context.

Lesson 3 • Defining Behavioural Metrics

Teaches how to operationalise behaviour into measurable, observable indicators. Ensures interventions are evaluated against precise, meaningful outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Sustaining Behaviour Change Over Time

Analyses the conditions that maintain behaviour change after initial intervention ends. Addresses the most common failure point in behaviour change programmes.