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April 2025
Understanding what makes people tick has always been at the heart of successful innovation. Whether you’re building a new product, launching a campaign, or trying to improve patient outcomes – the common thread is human behavior.
Behavioral science helps us decode the decisions people make. From product features that encourage daily use, to campaigns that actually change minds, understanding behavioral science isn’t just helpful – it’s essential.
In this article, we explore the core concepts of behavioral science, its influence on industries like healthcare and marketing, and how it can be applied to drive meaningful outcomes.
Behavioral science is the study of how people make decisions, form habits, and respond to stimuli. It draws on psychology, sociology, cognitive science, and economics to explain why people act the way they do – often irrationally.
If you want to dive deeper into the foundations, our article on The basics of behavioral science: understanding human behavior breaks it down.
When applied effectively, behavioral science can:
One of the most well-known branches of behavioral science is behavioral economics. It challenges the idea that humans make rational choices and instead looks at how emotions, biases, and mental shortcuts shape our decisions.
In our [behavioral economics deep dive], we explore how these insights can help businesses create more persuasive and intuitive experiences – from pricing models to app design.
Great marketing doesn’t just talk at people – it taps into what really matters to them. Behavioral science enables brands to create strategies that resonate on a psychological level.
Our guide on how behavioral science shapes marketing strategies and drives engagement explores how teams can use behavioural insights to:
These same principles apply in product development, where behavioral thinking helps teams build products that are intuitive, habit-forming, and aligned with real-world usage.
In healthcare, understanding patient behavior can make the difference between treatment success and failure. Behavioral science allows teams to:
We’ve unpacked this further in our article on using behavioral science to improve patient outcomes in healthcare.
Sometimes, small changes make the biggest impact. That’s the power of a nudge: subtle prompts that encourage better decisions without removing freedom of choice.
We explore this idea – and how to design effective nudges – in our feature on the power of behavioural science nudges (and how to use them).
At nuom, we combine behavioral science with design thinking to help businesses and healthcare teams solve real problems. By understanding what drives human behavior, we can design with empathy, create products that stick, and ultimately drive success.
If you’re interested in embedding behavioral thinking into your next campaign, service, or product – let’s talk.
We create human-centered solutions that drive positive outcomes for users and organisations. Let’s collaborate.
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