Simple Habit

Reminders, cues, and prompts are simply methods to cause someone to perform a behavior by calling their attention to it with a timely message. People have limited attention and memory, so these types of influences can be very effective when done skillfully. The cue need not consist of written or spoken language; for example, it could be a certain melody, symbol, or pattern of lights on a connected home device. It might also be a bracelet or pattern of vibrations from a wearable device. Provided the cue or prompt is associated with the behavior, almost any sensory stimuli that is reliably perceived and interpreted may be used. That said, verbal reminders can be effective since they may be personalized with additional semantic information related to the person's context or leverage other effects (e.g. identity priming or framing effects).

Mindfulness refers to applying focused attention to certain stimuli, typically in the present moment and in a non-judgmental way. Mindfulness has become incorporated into many evidence-based therapeutic approaches, including mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). It has been also been leveraged to influence behaviors outside of traditional mental health areaas, like dietary behaviors and athletic performance.

Feedback entails providing qualitative or quantitative information about a behavior's performance or consequences. Performative information might include data on how a person's current diet tracks with nutrition recommendations or how their home power consumption compares with nearby households.Feedback on outcomes may include information about relative cancer risk based on current lifestyle factors or calculated net worth in 20 years based on the person's current savings rate and investment returns.‍