Lessons & guides
Understand behavior
Why does the same advice work for one person and fail for another? Explore how personality, habits, and context shape behavior.
Explore the lessonsApplied behavioral science
Behavioral science, without the wishful thinking.
Understand what drives behavior, what the research actually shows, and how to choose behaviors and environments that fit real people.
What you’ll find here
What would help you today?
The Behavioral Scientist is Jason Hreha’s learning and reference resource for understanding human behavior. Explore lessons, guides, essays, and practical tools for your life and work.
Research explained
Evaluate the evidence
How big was the effect, and did it hold up? Learn to judge the reliability and practical value of a finding.
Learn to evaluate a claimPractical exercise
Choose a workable change
Compare ways to reach your goal, taking your interests, abilities, and circumstances into account. Leave with a printable plan for trying one of them.
Compare your optionsNot sure where to start? Explore behavior change in five connected lessons.
Begin the first lessonLooking for something specific? Search the library or look up a term.
The perspective behind the site
Choose the behavior first.
Before asking how to make a behavior stick, ask whether it is a good choice for the person doing it. Read the case for behavior market fit, or examine why intervention results deserve a closer look.
From understanding to action
Before you build a habit,
consider your options.
“Read every morning” is one way to learn something. It is not the only way. Start with what you want to learn, then consider which activities fit your interests and daily life.
Try the behavior menuA hypothetical example
“I want to understand a new subject.”
- Explore several behaviors. Read a chapter. Listen to an audiobook on a walk. Join a class. Discuss the subject with a study group.
- Compare the fit. Which option could help you understand the subject? Does it suit your interests, budget, and schedule?
- Choose one option to try. Start with one chapter, class, or discussion. Then consider what you learned and whether you want to continue.
Keep the other options. What you learn from the first attempt may give you a reason to try another.
Go deeper
The thinking behind the approach.
The behavior-change guide
Behavior change
Why changing behavior is so difficult—and why personality, context, and the behavior you choose deserve more attention than another habit hack.
The case for selection
Behavior Market Fit
Before building a product or planning an intervention, consider what you want people to do—and whether it makes sense for them. Jason’s essay explains why that choice comes first.
A lesson in useful skepticism
Read the evidence before the promise
How big was the effect? Did it survive another test? Learn to judge whether a finding gives you a good reason to act.
Useful resources
Put it into practice.
Compare possible behaviors, work through the Real Change worksheets, or look up a concept you want to understand.