Fogg’s behaviour model — a framework for behaviour change

Behaviour and behaviour change is not as complicated as most people think. It’s systematic. — Dr. BJ Fogg

Fogg Behaviour Model is a systematic way to think about the factors underlying behaviour change. In his model behaviour is a product of three factors: motivation, ability and triggers. There are a lot of models on behaviour change out there, but things get pretty complex many of times. BJ Fogg has made it easy to understand what triggers people to change behaviour and his model is very easy to use on a daily basis.

What causes behaviour change?

The Fogg’s Behaviour Model says that “Behaviour (B) happens when Motivation (M) , Ability (A) and Triggers (T) come together at the same moment.

Now let’s put it into an equation and understand what does it tell us;

Behaviour= Motivation x Ability x Triggers — when the desired behaviour does not happen, it means one of these elements is missing.

The most important implication of this model is it helps people identify what stops them from performing their desired behaviour. If a sufficient degree of motivation is matched with the ability to do a particular behaviour, then only a trigger is required to bring the new behaviour to action.

It also tells us something that triggers people to change behaviours in long term basis is very simple; and could be done in baby steps on a daily basis. When we start with small steps, the amount of motivation we rely on is also small and the actions seems doable which in-turn makes us feel successful.

The 3 elements of Fogg’s Behaviour Model — “Motivation (M), Ability (A) and Triggers (T).”

Motivation — The underlying drive that motivates someone to change behaviour(not your morning coffee). A person can be highly or lowly motivated. When motivation is high people can do hard things, but once motivation drops people will only do easy things.

The 3 major drives —

1. Sensation (physical level) — Some actions bring us pain (the one we avoid) & some bring us pleasure (the one motivating us to keep doing things). It’s the pleasure seeker inside us ( of course not negative motivations) that keeps the zeal inside us. For example —offering of rewards keeps our motivation to new heights.
2. Anticipation (emotional level) — Hope & Fear acts as the most powerful motivator and makes people desire that they are a part of something very meaningful.
3. Belonging (social level) — This is where people feel they are a part of a bigger community and do not feel rejected, this sense of belongingness keeps them motivated.

Ability — Not competence for a particular task but it is used to convey, it is very easy for someone to do a particular task in a moment of time. In this model, he replaces ability with simplicity to show ability could be increased by making the target behaviour simple.

The 6 simplicity factors or ways of to encourage behaviour change to by showing any task can be simple —

1. Time — If a certain behaviour requires time and the time is not available then it would not be considered simple.
2. Non-Routine— People tend to find behaviours simple if that fits their routine seamlessly. When people face a behaviour that is not routine, then they may not find it simple. In seeking simplicity, people will often stick to their routine or habits.
3. Physical Effort — Behaviours that require extra efforts are not liked by people and do not appear to be simple.
4. Money — The behaviour change should fit the targets financial resource for him to adapt it easily and find it simple.
5. Social Deviance — People generally find it difficult to go beyond societal norms, if a behaviour requires one to be socially deviant, it becomes difficult and not simple to be performed.
6. Brain Cycles — An enormous amount of thoughts keep juggling in our minds every moment and at times it leads us to cognitive overload. Making behaviour simple which does not require a lot of thinking to be put on could be easy and simple.

In short it’s important to use the power of simplicity to make someone able to change their behaviour!

Triggers — Everyone needs prompts or triggers to spring into action. The final piece of behavioural puzzle is the trigger. Without a prompt, someone can be very motivated and have the ability to perform the behaviour, but there’s simply no call to action

The 3 major types —

1. Spark — Added motivation or spark is generally for those who have the ability but lack the motivation.
2. Facilitator — Bouncing with motivation but lacks the ability to achieve the desired behaviour.
3. Signal — Some have ability as well as motivation all they require is a tinge of trigger to spring into action — a clear action to help them understanding what they have to do.

Behaviour change isn’t out of reach. It’s entirely within our grasp. For changing behaviour three elements have to happen at the same moment: motivation, ability, prompt. With which one can build tiny habits on daily basis that ensure long-lasting behaviour change.