Table 1.
BCT–MoA links with relatively high frequency in 277 intervention articles: Organized by BCT and presented in order of (i) BCT frequency from this study and (ii) p values
| BCT | MoA | Frequency | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instruction on how to perform the behavior (4.1) | Knowledge Skills |
17 20 |
.013 .024 |
| Goal setting (behavior) (1.1) | Behavioral regulation | 15 | .003 |
| Problem solving (1.2) | Beliefs about capabilities | 65 | .008 |
| Environmental context and resources | 9 | .026 | |
| Skills | 18 | .038 | |
| Social support (unspecified) (3.1) | Social influences | 34 | <.001 |
| Social/professional role and identity | 5 | .037 | |
| Demonstration of the behavior (6.1) | Beliefs about capabilities skills | 60 17 |
.003 .020 |
| Social learning/imitation | 3 | .044 | |
| Action planning (1.4) | Behavioral regulation | 14 | .001 |
| Feedback on behavior (2.2) | Subjective norms | 19 | <.001 |
| Knowledge | 13 | .013 | |
| Information about health consequences (5.1) | Knowledge Beliefs about consequences |
18 26 |
<.001 <.001 |
| Attitude towards the behavior | 19 | <.001 | |
| Perceived susceptibility/vulnerability | 10 | <.001 | |
| Intention | 28 | .004 | |
| Behavioral practice/rehearsal (8.1) | Skills Beliefs about capabilities |
24 47 |
<.001 .013 |
| Social comparison (6.2) | Subjective norms | 31 | <.001 |
| Social influences | 9 | .043 | |
| Information about social and environmental consequences (5.3) | Beliefs about consequences Attitude towards the behavior |
20 16 |
<.001 <.001 |
| Knowledge | 13 | .002 | |
| Self-monitoring of behavior (2.3) | Behavioral regulation | 18 | <.001 |
| Credible source (9.1) | General attitudes/beliefs | 2 | .007 |
| Social/professional role and identity | 4 | .023 | |
| Adding objects to the environment (12.5) | Environmental context/resources | 8 | <.001 |
| Prompts/cues (7.1) | Memory, attention, and decision processes | 8 | <.001 |
| Behavioral cueing | 6 | .002 | |
| Environmental context/resources | 5 | .036 | |
| Graded tasks (8.7) | Beliefs about capabilities | 28 | <.001 |
| Pros and cons (9.2) | Beliefs about consequences | 12 | <.001 |
| Attitude towards the behavior | 9 | <.001 | |
| Feedback processes | 3 | .005 | |
| Motivation | 5 | .023 | |
| Framing/reframing (13.2) | Self-image | 2 | <.050 |
| Attitude towards the behavior | 7 | .014 | |
| Behavior substitution (8.2) | Behavioral regulation | 5 | .016 |
| Social reward (10.4) | Reinforcement | 3 | .020 |
| Focus on past success (15.3) | Beliefs about capabilities | 23 | <.001 |
| Restructuring the physical environment (12.1) | Environmental context/resources | 9 | <.001 |
| Behavioral cueing | 3 | .020 | |
| Behavioral contract (1.8) | Goals | 4 | .002 |
| Information about other’s approval (6.3) | Subjective norms Intention |
13 12 |
<.001 .043 |
| Verbal persuasion about capability (15.1) | Beliefs about capabilities | 27 | <.001 |
| Feedback on outcomes of behavior (2.7) | Subjective norms Feedback processes |
5 2 |
.020 .027 |
| Reduce negative emotions (11.2) | Beliefs about capabilities | 12 | .039 |
| Salience of consequences (5.2) | Attitude towards the behavior | 4 | .025 |
| Commitment (1.9) | Values | 1 | .039 |
| Self-monitoring of outcomes of behavior (2.4) | Behavioral regulation | 5 | .024 |
| Information about emotional consequences (5.6) | Beliefs about consequences Attitude towards the behavior |
6 5 |
.005 .006 |
| Emotion | 2 | .024 | |
| Goal setting (outcome) (1.3) | Goals | 4 | .003 |
| Social support (practical) (3.2) | Social influences | 4 | .023 |
| Environmental context and resources | 3 | .026 | |
| Discrepancy between current behavior and goal (1.6) | Goals Behavioral regulation |
3 3 |
.001 .019 |
| Avoidance/reducing exposure to cues for the behavior (12.3) | Needs | 1 | .027 |
| Identification of self as role model (13.1) | Self-image | 2 | .011 |
| Restructuring the social environment (12.2) | Environmental context/resources Social influences |
3 6 |
.004 <.001 |
| Nonspecific reward (10.3) | Reinforcement | 2 | .005 |
| Habit formation (8.3) | Behavioral cueing | 3 | .001 |
| Behavioral regulation | 3 | .024 | |
| Review outcome goals (1.7) | Goals | 2 | .012 |
| Mental rehearsal of successful performance (15.2) | Motivation Values |
3 1 |
.008 .026 |
| Material incentive (behavior) (10.1) | Attitude towards the behavior | 1 | .048 |
| Monitoring of behavior by others without feedback (2.1) | Needs Social influences |
1 2 |
.019 .036 |
| Generalization of target behavior (8.6) | Skills | 2 | .047 |
| Comparative imagining of future outcomes (9.3) | Beliefs about consequences | 3 | .017 |
| Identity associated with changed behavior (13.5) | Values Motivation |
1 2 |
.016 .028 |
| Anticipated regret (5.5) | Emotion | 2 | .002 |
| Habit reversal (8.4) | Behavioral regulation | 4 | .006 |
| Behavioral cueing | 2 | .023 | |
| Memory, attention, and decision processes | 2 | .036 | |
| Associative learning (7.8) | Reinforcement | 1 | .038 |
| Self-incentive (10.7) | Motivation | 1 | .036 |
| Incompatible beliefs (13.3) | Attitude towards the behavior | 1 | .048 |
Numbers in parentheses for each BCT are as per BCTTv1. BCT behavior change technique; MoA mechanism of action; BCTTv1 BCT Taxonomy version 1.