Written by Suz Rogers and Jo White
At Human Behaviour Change for Life (HBCL), we regularly find ourselves explaining what human behaviour change really is, and just as importantly, what it is not. While the field continues to gain traction across sectors, we still encounter a surprising number of misconceptions. In this article on what human behaviour change is, we’ve created you a complete guide to demystifying it. We aim to unpack some of those myths and share our perspective on what human behaviour change involves, how it works in practice, and why it matters more than ever. So, what is human ba
Human behaviour change is not just for campaigns and education
One of the most common myths we come across is the belief that behaviour change is only relevant to public campaigns or education initiatives. This narrow view overlooks the true breadth and versatility of behaviour change as both a science and a practical discipline.
It’s easy to understand why this perception exists. If your professional focus is on campaigning or teaching, you naturally see behaviour change through that lens. But in reality, behaviour change should underpin everything we do as humans and our work in many other sectors including environmental sustainability, animal welfare, business strategy, healthcare, and policy development, to name a few.
What excites us most is how behaviour change principles can be applied across these diverse fields. Good campaigning and good education already include behaviour change elements whether labelled that way or not. By being intentional and strategic about how we embed behaviour change, we can strengthen the impact of our work far beyond traditional boundaries.
Human behaviour change science is sometimes perceived to be complicated but this doesn’t mean it is impractical
One of the core strengths of human behaviour change lies in its ability to help make sense of complexity. In today’s interconnected world, no challenge exists in isolation. Effective behaviour change work requires systems thinking: the ability to understand how people, environments, policies, and cultures interact.
We often bring together specialists from different disciplines (e.g., economics, social science, animal welfare, communications and so much more) to develop tailored, context-specific strategies. A recent project saw us doing just that to create a behaviourally informed business case. The result was a multi-dimensional approach grounded in evidence, insight, and relevance to the people it aimed to influence.
This flexibility is essential. A generic, one-size-fits-all solution rarely works. Every situation is unique, and behaviour change strategies need to reflect that. The modern world is messy, and our role is often to help organisations ‘empty the cupboard’, to make sense of everything they’re working with and structure it in a way that’s useful and actionable.
Human behaviour change isn’t doing things ‘to’ people
Another key principle of our work is co-creation. Human behaviour change isn’t about telling people what to do, it’s about working with them to understand what’s driving current behaviours and collaboratively identifying pathways to meaningful, lasting change.
We often refer to the idea of walking alongside someone rather than leading them. This approach is grounded in research: people are more likely to commit to change when they’ve been involved in shaping it. Ownership matters and the process of behaviour change should feel supportive, not imposed.
This is especially important in complex or emotionally charged contexts. We take care to involve people from the outset, building strategies together with those who will be affected. It’s not just a more effective approach, it’s also an ethical one.
Practising what we preach
Even as behaviour change professionals, we’re constantly reminding ourselves to apply these principles in our own work. Recording this conversation to create an article, for example, was a process of change in itself. Despite our comfort with public speaking and facilitation, the idea of recording a casual, unscripted session had sat on the backburner for some time.
Making ourselves sit down and actually do it meant embracing a little discomfort, and walking through our own behaviour change journey. It served as a powerful reminder: behaviour change is never just theoretical. It’s personal, dynamic, continuous and real.
Involve me and I understand
Ultimately, we believe the heart of behaviour change lies in involvement. There’s an old saying: Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand. That sentiment captures everything we try to do at HBCL.
Knowledge is important, but rarely enough on its own. Demonstration helps, but still leaves people as observers. Involvement is what transforms understanding into action. That’s why we embed co-creation into all our work, whether we’re developing a new strategy, running a workshop, or supporting a client through change.
Join the conversation
This article is the first in a new series where we’ll be sharing reflections, case studies, and practical guidance drawn from our experiences in the field of human behaviour change. We hope you found it insightful.
We’d love to hear your thoughts, whether it’s feedback, questions, or topics you’d like us to explore in future editions. You can also sign up to our newsletter to stay updated with new ideas, resources, and updates from the HBCL team.
Let’s keep the conversation going because behaviour change doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens together.
Jo White and Suzanne Rogers are Co-Founders of Human Behaviour Change for Life (HBCL), a social enterprise dedicated to supporting people and organisations to create meaningful, sustainable change using behavioural science.
