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February 3, 2021 | SOBC 101: The Science Of Behavior Change for Psychological Scientists Webinar

Date: Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Time: 2:00 to 3:00 pm ET

Register for the webinar here.

It is well established that health behaviors such as physical activity, sleep, diet, and medication adherence are strong predictors of greater longevity and lower occurrence of adverse medical events. Nevertheless, it remains largely unknown how to develop effective interventions to alter these health behaviors. Research psychologists with training in experimental methodology are uniquely positioned to measure and systematically identify the operative factors underling successful behavior change. A core principle of the National Institutes of Health’s Science Of Behavior Change (SOBC) initiative is that a causal understanding of the means of shifting behaviors may be achieved by following the systematic scientific approach used in experimental medicine: focusing on how a behavioral intervention (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy) can engage a hypothetical psychological mechanism (e.g., worry) that can be assessed with a valid and reliable measure.

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February 22-23, 2021 | SOBC Capstone Conference

Ten Years of the Science of Behavior Change Common Fund Program: Celebrating Accomplishments and Looking to the Future
February 22-23, 2021

This capstone research conference will celebrate ten years of the NIH Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Common Fund Program. The goal of the SOBC program is to advance behavior change research through a focus on mechanisms of change and the integration of basic research with applied/interventional research. The capstone conference will highlight innovative examples of behavior change research consistent with SOBC principles, from use-inspired basic research to mechanisms-focused intervention science. Renowned national and international experts will share their research findings and visions for the future of the science of behavior change. The capstone conference will be virtual, open to the public, recorded, archived, and proceedings summarized in a publicly accessible report.

Registration link here.

• Events

October 2, 2020 | SBM Webinar on Climate Change, Behavior Change, and Health: Tackling Global Challenges Together

Rapid accelerations in the effects of climate change paired with new and ongoing pandemics affecting global health – including obesity and COVID-19 – create the imperative to find solutions that address multiple challenges at once. This session is part of an emerging effort to advance research to help individuals and communities engage in behaviors that synergistically benefit both human health and the global environment. Internationally recognized leaders from a diverse set of climate and health research organizations will share evidence-based principles, best practices, and lessons learned for successful transdisciplinary research. Each speaker will provide brief remarks and participate in a moderated discussion focused on strategies for identifying and building successful collaborations and partnerships, developing novel research questions, and facilitating knowledge integration across diverse perspectives. Drawing on their in-depth knowledge and broad experience, the speakers will share practical guidance to help enhance the capacity for transdisciplinary science and offer key insights for those preparing to tackle global climate and health challenges together.

Register here.

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July 31, 2020 | Society of Behavioral Medicine Presents The Fundamentals of Climate Change and Health Behavior Change

WEBINAR: The Fundamentals of Climate Change and Health Behavior Change

Friday, July 31st, 2020 (11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. EDT)

In this webinar, three experts will present research on climate change and health behavior change. Speakers will describe climate change and both the adaptive and mitigative responses by humans in response to it. Health behaviors will be discussed in the context of climate change from an individual, policy, and systems perspective. The webinar will conclude with a Q&A.

Register for the webinar

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Recording | Donald Edmondson, PhD Presents The Role of Mechanism Discovery and Targeting in the NIH Stage Model

Overview: The need for effective behavioral interventions has never been greater, but existing interventions yield weak and/or difficult to replicate effects. Further, implementation of behavioral interventions at scale is rare, and may further dilute intervention effects. The NIH Stage Model provides a framework for guiding intervention development from early phase discovery through large scale implementation, and the NIH Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) program has articulated a rigorous method for incorporating the underlying mechanisms of behavior change at each stage of intervention development. This talk will discuss how the two frameworks for research complement each other, and how individual researchers can adopt practices that will yield more powerful, replicable, and informative interventions.

Recording link here.

• Events

Upcoming Mind the Gap Webinar | Connections Between Traditional and Causal Mediation Methods

Presented by: David P. MacKinnon, Ph.D.

Thursday, June 18, 2020 | 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET

Register here.

About the Webinar

This presentation describes mediation analysis and the connections between traditional mediation analysis and recently developed causal mediation analysis. Mediating variables have a long and important history in theoretical and applied research because they describe how and why two variables are related. One common example of applied mediation research is the study of the mediating processes that explain how a prevention/treatment program achieves its effects on an outcome variable. If the intervention’s active ingredients are identified, the intervention can be made more powerful and more efficient. Other applied mediation examples include identifying how a risk factor leads to disease and how early life experiences affect later development.

Important recent developments in causal mediation analysis include new counterfactual (potential outcomes) methods that generate accurate estimates for continuous and categorical measures. In general, researchers have been slow to adopt causal mediation methods because of their complexity and the perceived lack of connection between traditional and causal methods. However, understanding connections between traditional and causal mediation increases understanding of both methods. The background for each approach is described, along with questions about traditional mediation and potential outcomes that causal mediation perspectives can help answer. The presentation ends with future directions in mediation theory and statistical analysis.

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