The Behavioral State Model

The Behavioral State Model is a model of behavior that I’ve been developing for a number of years.

The basic idea is that at any moment in time we are in a particular “Behavioral State”. This state is determined by:

• Our personality
• Our perception
• Our emotions
• Our abilities
• Our social status/situation
• Our motivations
• Our social environment
• Our physical environment

The first 6 items together make up our identity:

• Identity = Personality + Perception + Emotions + Abilities + Social Status/Situation + Motivations

And the perception component can be broken down into two subcomponents:

• Perception
  • Biology
  • Beliefs

In every moment, we are in a particular Behavioral State. The Behavioral State we’re in makes certain actions more likely and certain actions less likely.

For example, if in the current moment we have a low ability to exercise, or have a belief that exercising is a waste of time, our current Behavioral State will make that behavior unlikely.

At any given moment in time, a Behavioral State Score can be calculated for any given behavior. This score is determined by all of the different components:

• Behavioral State Score for (specific behavior)
  • Personality: Is this person interested in this specific behavior? Does it fit into their value system? Does it match their preferences?
  • Perception: Does this person believe that this specific behavior is fun, interesting, helpful, etc? Do they even think it’s possible? Do they have the perceptual ability to partake?
  • Emotions: Is this person in an emotional or unemotional state? If they’re in an emotional state, are they in the right emotional state for this behavior to occur?
  • Abilities: Does this person have the ability to perform this specific behavior? Do they have a special talent for this specific behavior?
  • Social Status/Situation: Does this person’s social position encourage this specific behavior? Will this specific behavior increase or decrease their social status?
  • Motivations: Is this person motivated to perform this specific behavior? Is there a reward or incentive for doing this specific behavior?
  • Social Environment: Is there a social norm/social pressure for this specific behavior in their current context?
  • Physical Environment: Is it possible to perform the specific behavior in this current physical environment?

If any component is insufficient for a particular behavior, it will not occur.

The Behavioral State Model also gives Behavioral Designers and applied behavioral scientists a framework they can use to change behavior. In order to get someone to behave differently, you first need to understand their Behavioral State and which components are lacking. By doing a Behavioral State Analysis you can determine the most effective way of changing the behavior in question.

The Behavioral State Model also provides Behavioral Designers with a variety of different levers they can pull to modify behavior. The Behavior State Model has eight behavioral modifiers, where the other popular models in the field have three:

• The Behavioral State Model
  • 8 Behavioral Modifiers
    • Personality
    • Perception
    • Emotions
    • Abilities
    • Social status/situation
    • Motivations
    • Social environment
    • Physical environment
• The Fogg Behavior Model
  • 3 Behavioral Modifiers
    • Motivation
    • Ability
    • Trigger
• COM-B Model
  • 3 Behavioral Modifiers
    • Capability
    • Opportunity
    • Motivation

In addition, the Behavioral State Model incorporates cognitive factors (like perceptions and beliefs) and personality. These are important determinants of behavior that are missing from other behavior change models.