The DOI matches its Crossref record; 140 of the 142 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Understanding health behavior change by motivation and reward mechanisms: a review of the literature
Open accessAbstract
The global rise of lifestyle-related chronic diseases has engendered growing interest among various stakeholders including policymakers, scientists, healthcare professionals, and patients, regarding the effective management of health behavior change and the development of interventions that facilitate lifestyle modification. Consequently, a plethora of health behavior change theories has been developed with the intention of elucidating the mechanisms underlying health behavior change and identifying key domains that enhance the likelihood of successful outcomes. Until now, only few studies have taken into account neurobiological correlates underlying health behavior change processes. Recent progress in the neuroscience of motivation and reward systems has provided further insights into the relevance of such domains. The aim of this contribution is to review the latest explanations of health behavior change initiation and maintenance based on novel insights into motivation and reward mechanisms. Based on a systematic literature search in PubMed, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar, four articles were reviewed. As a result, a description of motivation and reward systems (approach/wanting = pleasure; aversion/avoiding = relief; assertion/non-wanting = quiescence) and their role in health behavior change processes is presented. Three central findings are discussed: (1) motivation and reward processes allow to distinguish between goal-oriented and stimulus-driven behavior, (2) approach motivation is the key driver of the individual process of behavior change until a new behavior is maintained and assertion motivation takes over, (3) behavior change techniques can be clustered based on motivation and reward processes according to their functional mechanisms into facilitating (= providing external resources), boosting (= strengthening internal reflective resources) and nudging (= activating internal affective resources). The strengths and limitations of these advances for intervention planning are highlighted and an agenda for testing the models as well as future research is proposed.
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“Research suggests that many adults experience optimal sleep at bedroom temperatures between 15-20 °C, a range that facilitates the body's natural cooling signals and promotes faster sleep onset [62].”
From Pre-Sleep Anxiety: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Approaches in Clinical Practice. (2026) · cites this paper as [62]
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Behavior change: from neurobiology to behavioral change theories and back – part 2
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Behavioral change: from neurobiology to behavioral-change theories and back – part 1
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Future Directions and Solutions
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Koceva, A., Janež, A., & Jensterle, M. (2026) · Frontiers in Endocrinology · doi:10.3389/fendo.2026.1892632
“Biological feedback may help individuals recognize the consequences of daily behaviors, strengthen motivation and self-regulation and facilitate rapid adjustment of eating and physical activity patterns (33, 34).”
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“When social participation activities are meaningful and meet the needs of older adults, they appear more likely to increase their interest, motivation and persistence (Michaelsen and Esch 2023).”
Hosseini, S. H., & Rafaiee, R. (2026) · Addiction and Health · doi:10.34172/ahj.1747
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Metadata
- Authors
- Michaelsen, M. M., & Esch, T.
- Affiliations
- Witten/Herdecke University (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Michaelsen, Maren M.
- Venue
- Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2023-06-19
- Volume
- 17
- Pages
- 1151918-1151918
- ISSN
- 1662-5153 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10317209
- OpenAlex
- W4381166137
- Cited by
- 114
- References
- 142
- Citations by year
- 2026: 49 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 4
- FWCI
- 3.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- health behavior change, motivation, reward systems, approach motivation, quiescence, behavior maintenance, behaviour change techniques, lifestyle modification, chronic disease prevention, nudging, intervention planning
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