Robert West, Professor of Health Psychology at University College London discusses what really motivates us. Topics include integrating diverse topics in motivation, the debate on e-cigarettes and public health, techniques for justifying actions and avoiding guilt, behavior change projects and AI analysis, genetic predispositions and motivation, and building perspective and understanding priorities.
Having a sense of control and choice greatly influences our motivation in shaping our behavior.
The COMB model, developed by the UCL Centre for Behavior Change, effectively promotes healthy behaviors and behavior change through considering capability, opportunity, and motivation.
Deep dives
Main Idea 1
Motivation is an important component of behavior and can significantly influence our actions. It is essential to have a sense of control and choice over our actions as this can greatly influence our motivation. Robert West, an expert in motivation, emphasizes the importance of having a sense of choice and control in influencing behavior.
Main Idea 2
The COMB model, developed by the UCL Centre for Behavior Change, is a framework for behavior change that considers capability, opportunity, and motivation. Robert West, who was part of the team that designed the COMB model, highlights its effectiveness in promoting healthy behaviors and changing behavior patterns.
Main Idea 3
Punishment as a method of behavior change is discussed. While punishment can have side effects and may not always yield the desired learning outcomes, it can be effective when structured in a way that allows individuals to clearly avoid punishment. Understanding the limitations and impacts of punishment is crucial in designing effective behavior change strategies.
Main Idea 4
The Human Behavior Change Project at UCL aims to develop an AI and machine learning system that can analyze the world's literature on behavior change interventions. The project seeks to create an extensive knowledge base that can be easily accessed and provide evidence-based insights into behavior change. The project faces challenges in reading and extracting information from scientific papers but incorporating multiple sources and using crowd-sourcing techniques show promise in finding accurate answers to behavior change questions.
Robert West, Professor of Health Psychology at University College London sits down with Ella Jenkins and talks us through his long career in health and behaviours - as we ask 'what really motivates us?'
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