
BEHAVIOR CHANGE TACTIC
Reminders, Cues, or Prompts
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).
Studies involving Reminders, Cues, or Prompts
PAPERS
Effects of a self-determination theory-based mail-mediated intervention on adults' exercise behavior.
BEHAVIOR
Physical Activity
PAPERS
Motivational counselling and SMS-reminders for reduction of daily sitting time in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a descriptive randomised controlled feasibility study.
BEHAVIOR
Sedentary Behaviors
TACTICS
Reminders, Cues, & Triggers, Coaching or Counselling
PAPERS
Source Dispensers and Home Delivery of Chlorine in Kenya
AUTHORS
C Casarotto, S Asman
TACTICS
Reduce Friction or Barriers, Reminders, Cues, & Triggers
PAPERS
The Personal Side of Relationship Banking
AUTHORS
A Schoar
BEHAVIOR
Loan Repayment
TACTICS
Reminders, Cues, & Triggers
PAPERS
Potential follow-up increases private contributions to public goods
AUTHORS
E Yoeli, J Ternovski, Todd Rogers
BEHAVIOR
Voting
TACTICS
Implementation Intentions, Identity Priming, Reminders, Cues, & Triggers
PAPERS
The Impact of Text Message Reminders on Adherence to Antimalarial Treatment in Northern Ghana: A Randomized Trial
AUTHORS
JR Raifman
BEHAVIOR
Adherence (Medication or Treatment)
TACTICS
Reminders, Cues, & Triggers
PAPERS
Don’t Blame the Messenger: A Field Experiment on Delivery Methods for Increasing Tax Compliance
AUTHORS
C Scartascini, D Ortega
BEHAVIOR
Taxes
TACTICS
Framing Effects, Reminders, Cues, & Triggers
PAPERS
Text Messages as Mobilization Tools: The Conditional Effect of Habitual Voting and Election Salience
AUTHORS
Ali Adam Valenzuela, Melissa Michelson, Neil Malhotra, Todd Rogers
BEHAVIOR
Voting
TACTICS
Reminders, Cues, & Triggers
PAPERS
Individual- versus group-based financial incentives for weight loss: a randomized, controlled trial
AUTHORS
JT Kullgren
BEHAVIOR
Physical Activity, Diet & Nutrition
TACTICS
Micro-Incentives, Group Incentives
Products leveraging Reminders, Cues, or Prompts

PRODUCTS
Wellth Rewards
Behaviors
Medication Adherence
Tactics
Micro-Incentives, Reminders, Cues +8 more

PRODUCTS
Sidekick Health
Behaviors
Disease Management
Tactics
Feedback, Gamification, Goal Setting +5 more

PRODUCTS
MoodMission
Behaviors
Mental Health & Self-Care
Tactics
Tracking cognitions or emotions, AI or Chatbot, Goal Setting +7 more
Models
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

PRODUCTS
Hello Heart
Behaviors
Disease Management, Physical Activity, Diet & Nutrition
Tactics
Feedback, Self-Monitoring or Tracking, Reminders +3 more

PRODUCTS
Vivibot
Behaviors
Mental Health & Self-Care
Tactics
AI or Chatbot, Goal Setting, Implementation Intentions +5 more

PRODUCTS
Nest Thermostat
Behaviors
Conservation Behaviors
Tactics
Environmental Restructuring, Automation, Social Norms +6 more

PRODUCTS
Prepmate
Behaviors
Medication Adherence, Sexual Health Behaviors
Tactics
Coaching or Counselling, AI or Chatbot, Implementation Intentions +4 more

PRODUCTS
Be Safe
Behaviors
Mental Health & Self-Care
Tactics
Reminders, Cues, & Triggers +1 more
Related behavior change tactics

TACTICS
AI or Chatbot
Using a chatbot or simulated conversational interaction.

TACTICS
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is a therapeutic approach originalled developed by Steven Hayes. It borrows from previous concepts like cognitive behavioral therapy and Morita therapy. The principles of ACT are fairly systematic and lend themselves well to program design, finding empirical support in adaptations like 2morrow's smoking cessation and pain management interventions.

TACTICS
Active Choice
Active choice, sometimes referred to as enhanced active choice or forced choice, refers to removing default options and often increasing the salience of potential decisions through emphasizing the consequences of one or more of the options. Coined by Punam Anand Keller and colleagues in 2011, it was originally intended to address concerns around paternalistic nudging for use in situations where forcing the default option may be considered unethical. In one of the original studies, CVS customers were given the choice to enroll in automatic refills of medications via delivery. The choices they were presented were ""Enroll in refills at home"" vs “I Prefer to Order my Own Refills.”

TACTICS
Automation
Automation refers to having another person, group, or technology system perform part or all of the intended behavior. A prominent example is Thaler & Bernartzi's Save More Tomorrow intervention, which invested a portion of employees' earnings into retirement funds automatically and even increased the contribution level to scale with pay raises. Other examples include automatically scheduling medical appointments so the patient needn't do it themselves and mailing healthy recipe ingredients to the person's home to reduce the burden of shopping.

TACTICS
Behavior Substitution
Behavior substitution refers to attempting to eliminate a problematic behavior by replacing it with another one. Often, the substituted behaviors are intended to have similar sensory qualities (e.g. drink flavored sparkling water instead of soda). The goal is typically to disassociate the original behavior from its cue, enabling the more positive behavior to be triggered automatically.

TACTICS
Behavioral Activation (BA)
Behavioral activation is a therapeutic approach that typically pairs activity scheduling with either monitoring tools or goal-setting. For example, someone might aim to balance activities they "should" do but underperform, like self-care behaviors, with activities they enjoy. Users of this technique may also track which activities cause certain cognitions or affective states, like those associated with depression.