Creating Behavioral Change (Coursera)

Offered by Wesleyan University,
Creating Behavioral Change (Coursera)

In this course you will learn about understanding and changing mental and physical health behavior. We will examine both the historical context and the current science. Major topics will include fundamental behavioral principles and basic elements of empirically supported individual treatments (e.g., motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapies).

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Lectures and examples will illustrate both the theory and the practice of evidence-based approaches to behavior change. You will engage in a course-long behavior change experiment as well as brief quizzes. Please note: this course is designed to introduce you to a range of contemporary approaches to behavioral treatments; however, it will not provide the skills needed to implement psychological interventions with others (this requires years of graduate training) nor is it designed to address or resolve your own psychological problems.

What You Will Learn

  • Fundamental principles of behavior change
  • How those principles are applied in evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions

Course 3 of 3 in the Abnormal Psychology Specialization

Syllabus

WEEK 1: Behaviorism in Historical Context
WEEK 2: Motivational Interviewing
WEEK 3: What to Change?
WEEK 4: Re-evaluating and Maintaining Gains

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Gamification (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Gamification (Coursera)

Gamification is the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business and social impact challenges. This course will teach you the mechanisms of gamification, why it has such tremendous potential, and how to use it effectively.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Cómo inspirar y a motivar personas (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Cómo inspirar y a motivar personas (Coursera)

En este curso, aprenderá a crear una visión compartida para su equipo y a comunicarla con eficacia a sus compañeros. También aprenderá a fijar metas y expectativas eficaces de un modo que le permita a su equipo alcanzar esa visión compartida. Por último, comprenderá las necesidades y los factores de desempeño más importantes en todas las culturas y aprenderá a alinear incentivos con conductas deseadas, para motivar a sus compañeros a alcanzar los objetivos del equipo.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Gender and Sexuality: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pittsburgh

Gender and Sexuality: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace (Coursera)

What is sex? What is gender? What is sexuality? What do we mean by LGBTQIA? How are these concepts related to the workplace? How have our understandings of these terms changed over time, and how have these changes impacted work and culture? To help you answer these important questions, this course will introduce you to the exciting field of gender, sexuality, and women's studies, and to LGBTQIA identities.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks
Customer Value in Pricing Strategy (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia,Boston Consulting Group - BCG

Customer Value in Pricing Strategy (Coursera)

The traditional approach to pricing based on costs works to pay the bills, but it leaves revenue on the table. You can, in fact, price your products in a way that increases sales--if you know what your customers are willing to pay and can leverage psychology to create better deal and discount plans. In this course, we'll show you how to price a product based on how your customers value it and the psychology behind their purchase decisions.

Oct 19th 2026
4 Weeks
De-Mystifying Mindfulness (Coursera) Coursera
Leiden University

De-Mystifying Mindfulness (Coursera)

Interest in meditation, mindfulness, and contemplation has grown exponentially in recent years. Rather than being seen as mystical practices from ancient Buddhism or esoteric philosophy, they are increasingly seen as technologies rooted in evidence from psychology and neuroscience. Mindfulness has become the basis for numerous therapeutic interventions, both as a treatment in healthcare and as a means of enhancing well-being and happiness. For millions around the world, mindfulness has become a life-style choice, enhancing and enriching everyday experience. Mindfulness is big business.

Oct 19th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Children Acquiring Literacy Naturally (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Santa Cruz

Children Acquiring Literacy Naturally (Coursera)

In this short course you will explore the possibility that children might acquire written language in a way that is similar to how they acquire spoken language—without instruction. You will encounter various aspects of behavioral science and technology that are relevant to this proposition. You will have the opportunity to learn the the perceptual, cognitive, and neurological capacities of children during their first years of life. You will advance your understanding of children and how they learn language. You will also be more attuned to current advances in the technology of human machine interactions, and what these phenomena imply for learning to read at an early age.

Oct 26th 2026
3 Weeks
Psychological First Aid (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Psychological First Aid (Coursera)

Learn to provide psychological first aid to people in an emergency by employing the RAPID model: Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition. Utilizing the RAPID model (Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition), this specialized course provides perspectives on injuries and trauma that are beyond those physical in nature. The RAPID model is readily applicable to public health settings, the workplace, the military, faith-based organizations, mass disaster venues, and even the demands of more commonplace critical events, e.g., dealing with the psychological aftermath of accidents, robberies, suicide, homicide, or community violence.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Speaking to persuade: Motivating audiences with solid arguments and moving language (Coursera) Coursera
University of Washington

Speaking to persuade: Motivating audiences with solid arguments and moving language (Coursera)

In the professional realm, we need to be able to argue without being argumentative. Whether you are fundraising for a nonprofit, pitching a business proposal, or suggesting a change to company policy, you are making arguments. In making the case for your topic, you often want to raise awareness, identify a pressing problem, discuss appropriate solutions, and outline specific steps for the audience.

Oct 19th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Organizational Behavior: How to Manage People (Coursera) Coursera
IESE Business School

Organizational Behavior: How to Manage People (Coursera)

Peter Drucker, a pioneer in the field of management, once said that people have a perverse tendency to behave like human beings. Of course, we are not machines, and certainly not programmable. But through the study of organizational behavior, we can gain insights into what makes people tick within a work context. Increasing your understanding of your own behavior and that of your colleagues, teams and leaders, is an important first step to bringing positive change to how you and your organization work.

Oct 19th 2026
4 Weeks
Social Norms, Social Change II (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Social Norms, Social Change II (Coursera)

This course covers scripts and schemas, the cognitive structures in which social expectations are embedded, and their relationship with social norms. The course then examines the essentials of norm abandonment, including the relations between personal beliefs and social expectations. We will also evaluate existing intervention strategies, including legal reforms, information campaigns, economic incentives, and group deliberations.

Oct 19th 2026
4 Weeks
International Leadership and Organizational Behavior (Coursera) Coursera
Università Bocconi

International Leadership and Organizational Behavior (Coursera)

Leaders in business and non-profit organizations increasingly work across national boarders and in multi-cultural environments. You may work regularly with customers or suppliers abroad, or be part of a globally dispersed cross-functional team, or an expatriate manager on an international assignment. You may be a member of a global online community, or a development aid worker collaborating with an international network of partner organizations. In all of these contexts, your effectiveness as a leader depends on how well you understand and are able to manage individual and collective behaviors in an intercultural context.

Oct 19th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Leadership & Organization Design (Coursera) Coursera
Illinois Tech

Leadership & Organization Design (Coursera)

To succeed in today’s knowledge intensive organizations managers need to understand how individual differences in personality, learning style and cultural values, group dynamics, organizational culture, and human resource management policies shape employee attitudes and behaviors. This course teaches managers creative problem-solving and ethical decision-making, change management, leadership techniques for enhancing social capital and influencing other organizational members, and management tools for multicultural and geographically dispersed teams.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks