What is Mechanisms of action?
Mechanisms of action are the specific psychological or biological processes through which a behavior change technique produces its effect. Identifying the mechanism explains why a technique works, not just that it works.
How it works
A technique like goal setting might work through increased self-efficacy, enhanced attention, mobilization of effort, and persistence. Identifying which mechanism is active allows practitioners to optimize the technique. The Human Behaviour Change Project maps links between techniques and their mechanisms.
Applied example
Self-monitoring of weight works through the mechanism of feedback: it provides comparison data between current state and goal, activating self-regulation. This explains why daily weighing is more effective than weekly and why it fails without a clear goal.
Why it matters
Understanding mechanisms transforms behavior change from a collection of tricks into an explanatory science, enabling prediction of when techniques will work and when they will not.
