A scoping review of ontologies related to human behaviour change.

Ontologies are classification systems specifying entities, definitions and inter-relationships for a given domain, with the potential to advance knowledge about human behaviour change. A scoping review was conducted to: (1) identify what ontologies exist related to human behaviour change, (2) describe the methods used to develop these ontologies and (3) assess the quality of identified ontologies. Using a systematic search, 2,303 papers were identified. Fifteen ontologies met the eligibility criteria for inclusion, developed in areas such as cognition, mental disease and emotions. Methods used for developing the ontologies were expert consultation, data-driven techniques and reuse of terms from existing taxonomies, terminologies and ontologies. Best practices used in ontology development and maintenance were documented. The review did not identify any ontologies representing the breadth and detail of human behaviour change. This suggests that advancing behavioural science would benefit from the development of a behaviour change intervention ontology.Wellcome Trus

Validating and constructing behavioral models for simulation and projection using automated knowledge extraction

Human behavior may be one of the most challenging phenomena to model and validate. This paper proposes a method for automatically extracting and compiling evidence on human behavior determinants into a knowledge graph. The method (1) extracts associations of behavior determinants and choice options in relation to study groups and moderators from published studies using Natural Language Processing and Deep Learning, (2) synthesizes the extracted evidence into a knowledge graph, and (3) sub-selects the model components and relationships that are relevant and robust. The method can be used to either (4a) construct a structurally valid simulation model before proceeding with calibration or (4b) to validate the structure of existing simulation models. To demonstrate the feasibility of the method, we discuss an example implementation with mode of transport as behavior choice. We find that including non-frequently studied significant behavior determinants drastically improves the model's explanatory power in comparison to only including frequently studied variables. The paper serves as a proof-of-concept which can be reused, extended or adapted for various purposes

Validating and constructing behavioral models for simulation and projection using automated knowledge extraction

Human behavior may be one of the most challenging phenomena to model and validate. This paper proposes a method for automatically extracting and compiling evidence on human behavior determinants into a knowledge graph. The method (1) extracts associations of behavior determinants and choice options in relation to study groups and moderators from published studies using Natural Language Processing and Deep Learning, (2) synthesizes the extracted evidence into a knowledge graph, and (3) sub-selects the model components and relationships that are relevant and robust. The method can be used to either (4a) construct a structurally valid simulation model before proceeding with calibration or (4b) to validate the structure of existing simulation models. To demonstrate the feasibility of the method, we discuss an example implementation with mode of transport as behavior choice. We find that including non-frequently studied significant behavior determinants drastically improves the model's explanatory power in comparison to only including frequently studied variables. The paper serves as a proof-of-concept which can be reused, extended or adapted for various purposes