Psychology for Digital Behavior Change (DBC)
Learn how to build psychology-driven websites, apps & campaigns
Classroom & self-paced training
Join our students from beginners to pros in top companies:


Build psychology-driven products
that are motivating, usable and engaging

This course will teach you the skills and knowledge required to build psychology-inspired websites, apps and digital campaigns.
We cover 50+ behavioral change principles, psychological design patterns and a step-by-step behavioral design process that you can bring back to the office and apply immediately.
The class includes examples from many fields and industries, but you’re invited to bring a challenge of your choosing so you can focus on applications specific to your work.
Our training will inspire you with new ideas, deepen your understanding of digital psychology and help you develop new skills in human-centered design.
We recommend this course as the starting point for most participants.
Skills and knowledge you’ll gain
By the end of this workshop, you’ll be able to:
Got a challenge? Bring it to class
A hands-on approach to behavioral design
To help you internalize the content, we’ve structured the course around a behavioral design process. We’ll take you through a step-by-step process, leading to a digital psychology-inspired product of your choosing. This will reinforce the lessons and ensure that you can translate psychology into digital practice.
You’ll develop skills in the overall process, which will touch hands-on skills in psychology-inspired software modelling, UX, information architecture, marketing, branding, and content strategy.
We’ve structured the design process across our two classes. DBC takes you through the process, ending with a testable lo-fi prototype. If you take EDP as well, you’ll extend your protype, and fine-tune it.
The classroom design process is intermixed with the lessons, while the online class design process happens during the LIVE tutorials.

Modules
In class or online, we’ll cover:
Day 1
- Using psychology in digital media
- A realistic look at digital influence
- Targeting the core drivers of behavior change
- Building behavioral segments & personas
- Psychology of human-computer relationships
- Brand/product credibility & user trust
- Behavioral science 101
- Behavioral design process
- Psychological wireframing
- Controlling user attention
- Boosting user comprehension
- Motivating users with emotional neuroscience
- Nudging users with decision science
- Pricing psychology
- Winning users’ trust & building confidence
Day 2
- Rapid persuasive design testing
- How users conceptualize virtual space
- Facilitating behavior change
- Behavioral processes & user flows
- Building intuitive navigational systems
- Motivating & training users to complete tasks
- Managing disengagement
- Journey mapping through stages of change
- Prototyping for behavioral design
- Media psychology & perception
- Digital social psychology
- Digital context psychology
- Psychological design audit
- Psychology-inspired strategy & design
- Behavioral science simulation game
Day 3
- Behavior insights software
- Behavioral insights report
- How to combine psychological principles
- Managing psychological backfires
- Building psychological architectures
- Motivation & efficacy design patterns
- Landing page psychology
- Data capture & storage strategies
- Personalized feedback psychology
- Feedback loop design patterns
- Coaching & gamification design patterns
- Architecting long-term processes of change
- Building multi-channel engagement sequences
- Reinforcing & shaping user behavior
- Behavioral science & creative design experiments
Here’s what you get

Classroom training kit
- Training guide
- Reference manual
- Behavioral design workbook
- Wireframe kit
- Cheatsheets

Online training resources
- On-demand video lessons
- LIVE tutorial recordings
- Wireframe kit (mini)
- Behavioral design workbook
- Closed community
- Cheatsheets
Classroom vs. self-paced editions
We offer this course in both classroom and self-paced editions.
It’s also available in team training too.
Here’s how our classroom and online editions work.
Classroom | Self-paced | |
---|---|---|
Duration | 3 days | 15 hours of on-demand with 5-weeks LIVE-tutorials |
Timing | 9:00–17:00 with 1 hour lunch and two 15 min breaks | Self-paced, but during the LIVE tutorial term, plan 4 hours of video lessons per week and 1.5 hours of tutorials |
Instructional hours | 19.5 hours over 3 days | 15 hours of focused lessons |
Logistics | The class runs 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (but please arrive by 8:50 as we start at 9:00 sharp). There is a 15-minute break in the morning, an hour for lunch, and another 15-minute break in the afternoon. We’ll provide all the training materials, so you’ll only need to bring a pen, some paper, and, if you’d like to participate in our live polling, bring a smartphone or tablet. | We’ll grant you immediate access to the videos as soon as you register, plus access to the waiting room for the upcoming LIVE tutorials. You’ll have access to the lessons, and then we’ll start the behavioral design process during the LIVE training term. |

Meet your instructor
Brian Cugelman, PhD
With an extensive career running online projects and studies for industry, non-profit organizations, governments and the United Nations, Dr. Brian Cugelman has been working as an online behavior change specialist since 1997.
If you'd like to learn more, read Dr. Cugelman's bio or see what he has to say about his training system.
Prerequisites
This is our most popular class and the one we recommend as a starting point for most people who want to learn how to apply digital psychology.
This class is suitable for those who use digital media across a range of applications, from tactical hands-on builders to strategic planners.
Looking to decide whether it is at the right level for you or want more information? Check out our FAQ or give us a shout.


Certification
After completing all modules, covering 19.5 hours of instruction over 3 days in class, or 15 hours online, you will receive a certificate of completion.
If you wish, you may write the test to earn you “Digital Behavior Change Certificate (DBCC)”. Three attempts to pass are included.
Learn about your certification options.
Who this course is for
This class is suitable for:
- Usability and UI/UX professionals
- Graphic designers and interactive designers
- Digital marketing and advertising specialists
- Content strategists and web writers
- Product marketing managers
- Digital project managers
- Health promotion specialists
- Conversion optimizers & researchers
- Entrepreneurs
Industries that will benefit
Our training attracts an eclectic blend of professionals from:
- Technology firms, cloud services
- Digital agencies, creative firms
- Non-profit organizations
- Government, health sector
- Retail businesses, consulting services
- Financial services, insurance
- Media, gaming, entertainment
- Telecommunications, infrastructure
- Small businesses, freelancers, students
- Academia, behavioral science, psychology
How students describe our training
Brian’s workshop was great! Very informative and I look forward to any other workshops that will be coming up.
Excellent content. Applicable everywhere. Thank you.
Great workshop! … We will start implementing some of the ideas in our projects.
Enroll in DBC Now

2022 Spring
Psychology for Digital Behavior Change (DBC)
- ABD schedule: 21 Apr - 16 June 2022
- ABD timing: Thursdays (13:00-14:15 EST)
- DBC Completion
- DBC Mastery (optional test)


2022 Fall
Psychology for Digital Behavior Change (DBC)
- ABD schedule: 6 Oct - 1 Dec 2022
- ABD timing: Thursdays (13:00-14:15 EST)
- DBC Completion
- DBC Mastery (optional test)


2023 Spring
Psychology for Digital Behavior Change (DBC)
- DBC Completion
- DBC Mastery (optional test)
- City: Toronto
- Venue: University of Toronto
- Dates: 17-19 Apr 2023
- Time: 9:00-17:00
- Instructor: Brian Cugelman, PhD


2023 Spring
Psychology for Digital Behavior Change (DBC)
- DBC Completion
- DBC Mastery (optional test)
- City: Vancouver
- Venue: Simon Fraser University
- Dates: 1-3 May 2023
- Time: 9:00-17:00
- Instructor: Brian Cugelman, PhD


2023 Spring
Psychology for Digital Behavior Change (DBC)
- DBC Completion
- DBC Mastery (optional test)
- City: San Jose
- Venue: ActionSpot
- Dates: 8-10 May 2023
- Time: 9:00-17:00
- Instructor: Brian Cugelman, PhD


2023 Spring
Psychology for Digital Behavior Change (DBC)
- DBC Completion
- DBC Mastery (optional test)
- City: Chicago
- Venue: DePaul University
- Dates: 15-17 May 2023
- Time: 9:00-17:00
- Instructor: Brian Cugelman, PhD

Have questions?
Email: [email protected]
Call: +1 (888) 977-2055
Online Enrollment
You'll enroll in Teachable for self-paced and live group classes. After enrolling, you'll get instant access and can sign-up for live terms.
Classroom Enrollment
You'll use Eventbrite for classroom training. After enrolling, you'll receive your ticket and logistical info.
Join thousands who’ve completed our training
From beginners to pros in top companies


Guarantees and Terms
All training come with our Guarantees and Terms. Please read these before enrolling.