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About Behavioral and 

 Social Sciences Research

The 21st century is an exciting time — a revolutionary period for the life 

sciences. We have learned a lot about the biological parts and systems 

that make up all living things. We also realize that it is just as important 

to understand how behavior and society affect health and can help fight 

disease. Combining information from both biomedical and behavioral and 

social sciences research will lead to the most effective interventions.

What is Behavioral and Social Sciences Research?

“Behavioral” is a term that covers a lot of ground. It refers to what people do, as 

well as what drives them to do things, and it involves psychological processes 

like emotion. “Social,” on the other hand, reflects how individuals interact 

with each other: in small groups, families, and communities, as well as within 

populations and in society.

Behavioral and social sciences research helps predict, prevent, and manage 

illness — in individuals and in whole populations. This research also helps 

people change their behaviors, understand treatments, and learn how to 

stick with them. Society’s role is significant, too: access to health care affects 

decision making and behavior.

The Heart Truth® campaign educates women about heart 

disease. In March 2009, 69 percent of women were aware 

that heart disease is the leading cause of death among 

women, up from 34 percent in 2000.

The Back to Sleep health awareness campaign that promotes infant backsleeping cut the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, by 

more than 50 percent in a 12-year period.
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What Works?

In recent years, NIH-funded behavioral and social sciences research has led to 

important wins in the battle against many diseases and conditions that strike 

Americans throughout life. For example, scientists have learned that:

... child-specific household interventions such as mattress covers, air filters, and 

professional pest control reduce unscheduled clinic visits and medication use 

in inner-city children with asthma.

... adults can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes through modest lifestyle 

changes — losing a small amount of weight, eating a healthy diet, and 

being physically active a total of two and a half hours per week. 

... increasing condom use, limiting sex partners and delaying sex, increasing 

acceptance of male circumcision in certain cultures, and increasing access to 

substance abuse treatment programs reduces the spread of HIV/AIDS.

... behavioral therapies help engage people in treatment for drug abuse, modify 

drug-use attitudes and behaviors, and improve life skills to promote recovery.

... people who have recently attempted suicide were 50 

percent less likely to try to kill themselves again within 

18 months when they were treated with a certain type 

of psychotherapy.

... a mix of behavioral, economic, social, and public policy 

interventions has contributed to a dramatic decline in 

smoking among American men: 25 percent now smoke 

compared to about 50 percent in the mid-1960s. 

... even moderate exercise and physical activity can help 

improve and maintain physical strength and fitness, 

as well as manage and prevent some diseases that 

accompany aging.

Using social media like text messaging, Learn the Link

educates young adults about risky behaviors linked to 

drug abuse, in particular the connection to HIV/AIDS.

We Can! behavioral educational programs for children ages 8 to 13 and their families 

encourage healthy eating, increased physical activity, and reduced screen time.
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What’s the Need?

Unhealthy behaviors like smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and drug abuse 

— as well as inactivity and poor diet — raise the risk for many debilitating and costly 

health problems. Collectively, these behaviors contribute to approximately 40 

percent of all deaths in the United States. Behavioral and social sciences research 

has never been more timely and important, and the NIH sees great opportunities 

to apply what we have learned toward helping change people’s behaviors to 

improve their health and well-being.

Obesity

About one-third of all U.S. adults and nearly one-fifth of the nation’s children are 

obese, raising risk for a variety of health conditions including heart disease, type 2 

diabetes, sleep disorders, some cancers, and osteoarthritis.

Addiction

The annual economic costs of illicit drug use in the United States are about $181 

billion. Yet, as staggering as this number is, it does not reflect the devastating 

consequences of drug abuse and addiction on individuals, families, communities, 

and society as a whole.

HIV/AIDS

More than 20 million people worldwide have died from AIDS-related illnesses, and 

unsafe sex and substance abuse are major contributing factors.

Heart Disease

Promoting lifestyle and behavioral changes — increasing 

physical activity, quitting smoking, and lowering 

cholesterol and salt — could save thousands of Americans 

from their number-one killer: heart disease.

Alcohol Abuse

Alcohol is a factor in about 50 percent of drownings and 

homicides, 40 percent of burns and motor vehicle crashes, 

30 percent of suicides, and half of all sexual assaults. 

Mental Illness

Major mental disorders like depression and anxiety affect 

about one in four American adults in a given year and are 

the leading cause of disability among people ages 15 to 

44 in the United States and Canada. 

The Rethinking Drinking program gives individuals user-friendly, 

interactive, anonymous tools to measure and modify behaviors related 

to alcohol consumption.
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How Do Scientists Study Behavior and Society?

Behavioral and social sciences researchers use a range of methods. 

Understanding how and why individuals behave — and how they interact 

with each other and their environment — relies on many different 

approaches and types of measurement.

Real-Time Data

Studying people where they are, in real life, is key. Using a method called 

ecological momentary assessment, or EMA, scientists collect real-time 

or near-real time data during the course of a participant’s daily life. This 

technique is valuable because it doesn’t rely on people remembering what 

they did and helps control for accuracy in reporting.

Community-Based Participatory Research

Language and cultural barriers often block effective prevention messages from reaching people at risk. By 

partnering with community members, researchers are better informed about community needs and can learn the 

best ways to tailor the delivery of information and interventions.

Animal Models

Scientists use a range of animal models to learn about human behavior. 

Fundamental studies in honeybees, fish, and hamsters have taught us about social 

behavior, for instance, and genetic research with fruit flies has helped explain 

circadian rhythms and why people need sleep. 

Sociocultural Approaches

Effective prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted 

diseases is enhanced by evidence-based understanding of various behavioral, 

social, and cultural factors — including stigma and what motivates behavior change. 

Genome Scans

Identifying reliable risk factors is a key component of effective prevention. 

Behavioral researchers team with geneticists to unravel relationships between 

genes and lifestyle, since both contribute to our health. 

Computer Models

Computer software can help researchers study problems not easily 

examined in real life, by simulating behaviors of individuals and groups 

living in real locations. This approach allows scientists to watch what 

happens as an epidemic spreads through a population, for example, and 

then predict how different interventions might stop it.

Brain Imaging

Modern technology allows us to see inside the living brain to understand 

how behaviors influence brain activity, how individual differences in brain 

structure and function affect disease, and even how people receive and 

remember health promotion messages.
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How Does NIH Research on Behavioral and 

Social Issues Help Americans?

All research funded by the NIH is carefully evaluated by scientific experts to assure 

that it is high-quality and safe, and that it answers questions related to the mission 

of the NIH. Whether the research occurs in the United States or in an international 

setting, what we learn from carefully constructed scientific studies often benefits 

Americans. The goal of this research is to understand behaviors that contribute to 

increased health risks, as well as how they can be changed in real-world settings.

Questions About a Grant?

The NIH posts brief summaries of all funded research projects. Simply visit the NIH 

RePORTER Web site (http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm), type in a key word, 

scientist name, grant number, or grantee institution, and retrieve a summary of the 

project. This data is continually updated and open to the public.

What’s Next?

In November 2009, the NIH launched the Basic Behavioral 

and Social Science Opportunity Network (http://oppnet.nih.

gov/), a trans-NIH initiative to expand the agency’s funding 

of basic behavioral and social sciences research. Because 

behavioral research studies are important across all areas 

of health and disease, most of the NIH will participate in 

supporting this important initiative, using pooled NIH funds. 

In addition, the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research 

(http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/behaviorchange) has begun a 

Science of Behavior Change (http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/

behaviorchange) program to improve our understanding of 

human behavior change across a broad range of health-related 

behaviors. This research aims to weave together basic and 

translational science, cutting across many areas of science 

and medicine.

The National Diabetes Education Program translates the latest science and 

spreads the word that diabetes is serious, common, and costly, yet controllable 

— and, for type 2 diabetes — preventable.
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Learn More

Aim for a Healthy Weight: Assess Your Risk

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/risk.htm

Back to Sleep Public Education Campaign

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/sids/

Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network

http://oppnet.nih.gov/index.asp

Exercise and Physical Activity for Older Adults

http://nihseniorhealth.gov/exerciseforolderadults/toc.html

Health Behaviors of Adults, United States, 2005-2007, CDC

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_245.pdf

Heart Truth® Campaign

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/

Learn the Link

http://hiv.drugabuse.gov/index.html

Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JL. Actual causes of death in the 

United States, 2000. JAMA. 2004;291(10):1238-45

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/291/10/1238?ijkey=34e68b6b32dfa

af67802d7a9408d97a912f17cd5&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study

http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Initiatives/MIDAS/

National Diabetes Education Program

http://ndep.nih.gov/

NIDA for Teens: the Science Behind Drug Abuse

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/

NIH RePORTER

http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm

Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research

http://obssr.od.nih.gov/index.aspx

Rethinking Drinking

http://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/

Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/index.htm