Every January, many of us resolve to change something - eat better, waste less, buy smarter - only to watch our good intentions falter by February. Behaviour change is hard, and understanding why is even harder.

Why do we do some things and not do others? Variations on this question have been the focus of whole careers in the field of psychology and even now a complete answer often eludes us. However, over time, research has undoubtedly advanced our understanding from simple explanations to more nuanced theories of how behaviour actually changes.

One common example is the intention-behaviour gap. A lot of projects aiming to influence behaviour assume that just giving people more information about a topic or making persuasive arguments will help people to want to change their behaviour. And once they want to act a certain way, the change in behaviour is sure to follow… In reality, this rarely works. There are often lots of other barriers that need to be addressed even once we decide we want to change behaviour (a feeling many of us will be familiar with at this time of New Year’s resolutions).

For a project like CircleUp, which works directly with over 100 households across Europe to support circular economy behaviour change, understanding theories of behaviour is fundamental. Last year, we published a deliverable setting out our underlying theoretical model for behaviour change. It provides a foundation for all the other project activities like the design of the digital platform and approach to community building.

In this blog, we unpack that theoretical model – why it matters, why CircleUp chose it, and what it means for the rest of the project.

Choosing a behaviour model

There is no shortage of models designed to explain behaviour. Each one aims to provide a structure which describes the complexities of human behaviour. In each model, different factors are given different emphasis or combined in different ways.

Many of the models which CircleUp considered, conceptualise behaviour as depending on a set of other ingredients. They could be described through the metaphor of a stool (the behaviour) which rests on a set of legs. Take away any of the legs and the behaviour won’t stand. One of the most well-known is the COM-B model, which argues that people won’t adopt a behaviour unless they have the capability, opportunity and motivation to make the change. This is the model used by our sister project CARE. Other models add different “legs” but have a similar overall concept. For example, the SHIFT framework describes a “five-legged” stool including social influence, habit formation, individual self, feelings and cognitions, and tangibility. The PSICHE framework one-ups the others with a six-legged stool including: product-related factors, social influences, individual factors, concerns about the environment, habits and emotions.

Many other versions exist, each with a different combination of “legs” or factors supporting behaviour. But CircleUp decided to adopt a different type of behaviour model, one that explicitly recognises that behaviour change is a process and not a single moment.

The SSBC model: behaviour change as a journey

CircleUp uses the stage model of self-regulated behavioural change (SSBC) as the basis of its core theoretical framework. It might not have the catchiest name but it neatly captures the idea that behaviour change is a journey with multiple stages where behaviour is formed and maintained. Rather than imagining behaviour as a stool supported by different legs, the SSBC imagines stepping stones which each need to be there in series. If one of them is missing or unsecure, then behaviour change won’t happen or won’t last.

The four stages (or stepping stones) are:

1. Pre‑decisional: becoming aware that a behaviour is problematic (“Maybe I waste more food than I realise…”).
2. Pre‑actional: forming an intention to change and choosing a strategy (“Next week I’ll plan meals more carefully.”)
3. Actional: actually doing the new behaviour (“I’m using a shopping list and cooking only what we need.”)
4. Post‑actional: maintaining the behaviour, evaluating it, avoiding relapse (“This is working well — how can I keep it up?”)

Why SSBC Works for Circular Economy Behaviours

Circular economy behaviours, like repairing electronics, sharing excess food or choosing second-hand clothes, requires more than just knowledge. They require shifts in habits, identity, confidence, emotions and potentially even wider social norms. The SSBC model embraces the reality that these changes are iterative. This is invaluable for CircleUp, allowing the project to adapt each activity (behaviour challenges, app features, in-person advice, local events) to meet people wherever they are on their behaviour change journey and help them take the leap to the next stepping stone.

Mixing metaphors (three-legged stepping stones)

Although SSBC is CircleUp’s main theoretical model it doesn’t completely replace the other models. The “stool” models (COM-B, SHIFT, PSICHE) explain what needs to be in place for a behaviour to occur; SSBC explains how people progress towards that behaviour over time. They’re not contradictory and can actually be combined. For example, each of the factors in the other models can be applied at each stage of the SSBC model. In other words, each of the SSBC “stepping stones” can be imagined as sitting on a three (or more) legged stool.

What this means for CircleUp

All these behaviour models simplify reality. Human behaviour is messy, emotional, and often surprising. Even good models will never be able to capture the deeply personal alchemy that determines each of our individual actions. But an effective model captures enough to allow us to design better interventions to support behaviour.

It remains to be seen how effective the SSBC model will be at supporting households to adopt circular economy behaviours. The planned activities with the CircleUp households this year will give us the chance to explore how well the SSBC models describes and predicts the real behaviour change happening in households, and whether adapting interventions to match household’s behavioural stage (or stepping stone) helps them to keep up new behaviours.

The answer will not only determine the outcome of the CircleUp project, it might help shape how we think about behaviour.