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