Toward an Open Mechanistic Science of Behavior Change

The Science of Behavior Change Network (SOBC) offers a pragmatic "experimental medicine" approach for advancing mechanisms of change regarding behavior. The key promise of the SOBC is to facilitate more effective knowledge accumulation about not only whether behavior change occurs in response to an intervention, but also how and why behavior change occurs. This work is being advanced during a time of rapid evolution on scientific best practices, particularly "open science" practices, which at their core, seek to increase the trustworthiness of science. The purpose of this commentary is to facilitate a broader discussion on opportunities and challenges involved with conducting mechanistic science related to behavior change (i.e., SOBC) via open science practices. The 10 studies published in this special issue highlight the considerable complexity involved in a mechanistic science of behavior change. Conducting this type of science will require a rich, multifaceted "team science" approach that can match that level of complexity, while constantly striving toward being as straightforward or as simple as possible, no simpler. Effective open science practices, which involve the sharing of resources whenever possible, can facilitate this type of team science. Moving to this new future would benefit from careful shifts in our scientific culture and financial models toward better supporting team and open science. In addition, there is also need for continued advancements in methods and infrastructure that can support the inherent complexities involved in advancing a mechanistic science of behavior change.