What Is Behavioral Complexity? Lay Perceptions of Characteristics of Complex Behavior

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Public Health
• Environmental Psychology

Background:

• Behavioral complexity is crucial for habit formation and designing interventions.
• Existing definitions of behavioral complexity are inconsistent, hindering research synthesis.
• A unified understanding of behavioral complexity is needed for effective habit-based strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore perceptions of behavioral complexity.
• To identify behaviors exemplifying different aspects of complexity.
• To inform a synthesized definition of behavioral complexity.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was administered to 225 participants.
• Participants rated the complexity of various health and environmental behaviors.
• The importance of 12 previously identified complexity characteristics was assessed.

Main Results:

• All proposed characteristics of behavioral complexity were deemed important by participants.
• Complex behaviors (e.g., smoking cessation, insulin use) align more closely with identified characteristics than simple behaviors (e.g., fruit consumption).
• Perceived behavioral complexity is significantly influenced by salient characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Findings contribute to a synthesized definition of behavioral complexity.
• Results can guide future research on behavior change techniques for habitual behaviors.
• Interventions can better target barriers and facilitators by understanding behavioral complexity.