Rethinking Post-COVID-19 Behavioral Science: Old Questions, New Insights

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically transformed behavioral science research. While many disciplines have been shown increasing attention in the existing literature, behavioral science uniquely revisits old questions to develop new theoretical perspectives for the post-COVID-19 era. Our systematic search of the literature allowed us to map 505 records that met our criteria, found across 102 papers; from these, we chose 11 articles published between 2021 and 2024. The focus of this review is on examining old questions while providing fresh insights into social, psychological, cognitive, healthcare, and human behavior. The findings emphasize the relevance of the TPB, the HBM, SCT, and the COM-B model, which effectively provide new theoretical insights into post-COVID-19 research. This study shows that theory-informed practices have been integrated into behavioral science research since the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical applications depend on these insights, which can inform evidence-based practice of planned behavior in healthcare policy, academic research, and community practice.