The Method Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

A Common Method for understanding behavior change. At the core of SOBC is a systematic, rigorous, and transparent way to create a unified science of behavior change. Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Experimental Medicine Approach Aims to identify key mechanisms underlying successful behavior change Offers intermediate targets on the causal path to behavior change Helps us understand why an intervention worked or didn’t work Experimental Medicine Approach Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Experimental Medicine Approach The experimental medicine approach opens up the black box of behavior change by focusing on underlying mechanisms. The purpose is to identify mechanisms underlying behavior change, so that we can develop targeted interventions to influence those mechanisms. The first step is to IDENTIFY an underlying mechanism of behavior change, for example, some measurable dimension of self-regulation. This is merely a hypothesis, rooted in theory, about an important driver of behavior change. Next, we figure out and demonstrate how to reliably and validly assess that mechanism. We MEASURE the mechanism. The third step is to show that we can influence that mechanism, using the measure we’ve identified or developed. Here, we’re merely doing early phase laboratory or brief intervention research powered to move only the intermediate target (the identified MECHANISM) that we hypothesized and measured. Fourth, we determine whether the influence we exert on that measure correlates with behavior change on the actual health behavior of interest. If so, we have found ourselves a mechanism of behavior change! Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Key Domains of Mechanisms Prior SOBC research suggests that mechanisms in these three domains are relevant for understanding behavior change: self-regulation, stress reactivity and stress resilience, and interpersonal and social processes. These three mechanism domains are the focus of the research being conducted as part of the SOBC Research Network. Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018

Hypothesize mechanisms first Determine whether you can measure them SOBC/Experimental medicine approach Hypothesize mechanisms first Determine whether you can measure them Determine whether you can influence them Determine whether changing them can change behavior Test an intervention optimized to change them, and thereby change behavior Donald Edmondson, "Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults" Dec 6-7, 2018