THE EVOLUTION AND AMAZING RESULTS OBTAINED BY APPLYING BEHAVIOR DESIGN
Applying psychology to solving industry and world problems is not new.Using applied psychology to identify target behaviors and creating solutions that work is new. It is called Behavior Design or Behavioral Design.
Stanford University and Dr. BJ Fogg are the two strongest roots of Behavior Design.
Dr. Fogg, director of the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab, pioneered Behavior Design through his research and industry contributions.
Although the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab was founded in 1998, “Behavior Design” did not gain significant traction until 2007 with “Facebook App” class taught by Dr. Fogg and Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups.
Numerous students from that class either sold their companies or went onto founding ones that change behavior. Two notable companies would be Instagram and Pulse. The famous NYTimes article on the class can be found here: The Class That Built Apps, and Fortunes.
Since that class, many notable pioneers of Behavior Design come out of Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab.
On June 16, 2013 Stanford became the first university to have a Behavior Design major graduate — David Ngo.
Actually, David Ngo and Christian Romero are the founders of Behavior Design X.
We are writing this because:
1) We love the field and am always learning
2) We often get asked “How do we learn Behavior Design? Who do we talk to if we want to apply Behavior Design to ‘X’ field?”
Actually, David asked many of the same questions during his time at Stanford. Because the field is so new, there were very few academic classes that catered exclusively to Behavior Design. So David and Christian had to learn in the real world and from his mentors. And these are the people that we found, studied, worked with personally, or heard about.
Hope it’s helpful to you.
PEOPLE (THESE ARE THE PIONEERS OF BEHAVIOR DESIGN)
These are our personal understandings and descriptions of each behavior designer.
BJ FOGG
The founder of Behavior Design. Amazing teacher. BJ focuses on Innovation across sectors that do good in the world.
DAVID NGO
The creator of Stanford University’s first Behavior Design major program, and also co-founder of Behavior Design X. An active member of Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab.
DAN ARIELY
Ariely brought to mainstream attention of how common predictably irrational we can be. Ariely applies behavior design to do good with his non-profit, IrrationalLabs.
RAMIT SETHI
The pioneer of Personal Finance and Behavior Design. Ramit also founded BehaviorCon. Focuses on creating systems for personal finance. An alumni of the Stanford Persuasive Tech Lab.
ROBERT CIALDINI
Cialdini brought to the world the six universal principles of influence. Cialdini focuses on teaching and ethically applying his persuasion principles for business leadership.
JASON HREHA
The pioneer of User Experience and Behavior Design. Jason founded Dopamine Inc, a UX design firm, and is part of Dan Ariely’s Irrational Labs. An alumni of the Stanford Persuasive Tech Lab.
STEPH HABIF
Also think Health, Strategy, and Behavior Design. Steph has taught Behavior Design at the Stanford Design School, founded the Stanford Calming Technology Lab, and a part of Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab.
ENRIQUE ALLEN
The founder of the Designer Fund. Enrique and the Designer Fund focuses on empowering designers to be the founding members of startups. An alumni of the Stanford Persuasive Tech Lab.
MARK NELSON
The other co-director of the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab. Also think Behavior Design, Peace, & Social Entrepreneurship. (The Peace Innovation Lab is a part of the Persuasive Tech Lab.)
NEEMA MORAVEJI
The director of the Stanford Calming Technology Lab. Think Behavior Design and Mindfulness. Neema is currently working on his company Spire. An alumni of the Persuasive Technology Lab.
MARGARITA QUIHUIS
Think Behavior Design, Peace, & Social Entrepreneurship. A co-director of the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab. Margarita and Mark and paving a new way to make this world a better place. (The Peace Innovation Lab is a part of the Persuasive Tech Lab.)
KYRA BOBINET
Think Health, Strategy, and Behavior Design. Kyra brought behavior design to Aetna when she worked there. Now she’s bringing her talents to as many clients as possible with her own behavior design firm, EngagedIN. An active member of Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab.
ZIMMERMAN
Think behavior design and finance for professional athletes. He’s also an active member of the Stanford Behavior Design Lab.
NIR EYAL
Think startups, strategy, and behavior design. Nir blogs, teaches, and advances the field of Behavior Design through his Hook Model and startup insights.
ANDREW MARTIN
Think Behavior Design and Product. Andrew focuses on all things UX, UI, & Product in both mobile apps and web apps to create a beautiful & result-oriented experience. He’s an active member of the Stanford Behavior Design Lab.
NIC CHAPA
Think Behavior Design and Mobile. Nic focuses on mobile apps and using behavior design to get results. An alumni of the Stanford Persuasive Tech Lab.
SHIRLEY RIVERA
Think Behavior Design and Workplace Habits. Shirley focuses on creating amazing habits, culture, & norms in conventional workplace environments