Dr. Steph Habif on humanizing change around behaviors (podcast episode #11)
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On today’s episode, Ari has a conversation with Dr. Steph Habif, Behavioral Scientist, Health Behavior by Design.
Ari’s chat with Steph covers several topics, including developing a clear understanding to base change around behaviors, grounding people with sets of specific behavioral terms
The conversation begins with Steph sharing her early experiences with the diversity of people and culture growing up in the New York City suburbs, the psychological aspects of being a student athlete, and how she combined it all into a leadership style rooted in empathy and curiosity.
Highlights from the conversation:
- I design for real life, not ideal behavior. I meet people where they are — not where we wish they were — because change only sticks when it fits into daily routines.
- I turn behavioral science into strategy. I apply principles from psychology and behavior design to help people and organizations adopt meaningful, lasting habits.
- I believe simplicity drives action. Complex ideas don’t inspire change — clear, small steps do. I focus on removing friction and making the first step feel easy.
- I build change around emotion, not just logic. People don’t change because of data alone. I design with empathy, creating emotional resonance that motivates behavior.
- I test, learn, and iterate. I treat every behavior change effort like an experiment — learning from what works, adapting quickly, and scaling what resonates.
Produced by Ari Abraham and Darrick Hays, with artwork by Chris Roettger.
