The Realist Lens - For Researchers Who Keep It Real
Sep 14, 2026 · 44 min · 12 segments
What happens when we bring behavioural science and realist research into the same conversation? And could the two approaches help address some of each other’s limitations? Alejandro is joined by Dr…
Justin AungerGuestAlejandroHost[ on-hold music] Hello, everyone.
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you're joining us from in the world today.
And welcome to another episode of "The Realist Lens" for researchers who keep it real.
Today, we are stepping into a conversation about behavior, context, and the messy reality of trying to change things in complex systems.
Realist approaches are often used because they help us move beyond the simple question of does this intervention work? Instead, they ask, what works for whom, in what context, and why? That is already a powerful way of thinking.
But when we start looking closely at interventions that aim to change behavior, especially in healthcare settings, another set of questions comes into view.
What exactly is intervention doing? What are its active ingredients? What behavior is it trying to change? And how do the resources offered by an intervention actually trigger changes in people's reasoning, motivation, confidence, or actions? This is where behavioral science enters the conversation.
Behavioral science gives us structured ways of naming and understanding intervention components, things like behavior change techniques and mechanisms of action.
Realist approaches, on the other hand, are very strong on context.
They remind us that interventions do not simply land in the world and produce outcomes.
They're interpreted, adapted, resisted, enabled, or reshaped by the people and systems around them.
So today's conversation is about what happens when we bring these two traditions together.
We will explore how realist thinking and behavioral science can strengthen each other, and we'll talk about why realist program theories may benefit from a more shared language, and why behavioral science may need a deeper engagement with context.
We will unpack ideas like behavior change techniques, mechanisms of action, behavioral settings, and causal chain configurations, but in a practical way, asking will they actually help us see when we're trying to understand complex interventions in real world healthcare.
And I'm really delighted to welcome Dr. Justin Ondria to "The Realist Lens" to speak about his recent publication talking exactly about this topic.
And Justin, thank you so much for joining us.
How are you today? Good, good afternoon.
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[ on-hold music] Hello, everyone.
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you're joining us from in the world today.
And welcome to another episode of "The Realist Lens" for researchers who keep it real.
Today, we are stepping into a conversation about behavior, context, and the messy reality of trying to change things in complex systems.
Realist approaches are often used because they help us move beyond the simple question of does this intervention work? Instead, they ask, what works for whom, in what context, and why? That is already a powerful way of thinking.
But when we start looking closely at interventions that aim to change behavior, especially in healthcare settings, another set of questions comes into view.
What exactly is intervention doing? What are its active ingredients? What behavior is it trying to change? And how do the resources offered by an intervention actually trigger changes in people's reasoning, motivation, confidence, or actions? This is where behavioral science enters the conversation.
Behavioral science gives us structured ways of naming and understanding intervention components, things like behavior change techniques and mechanisms of action.
Realist approaches, on the other hand, are very strong on context.
They remind us that interventions do not simply land in the world and produce outcomes.
They're interpreted, adapted, resisted, enabled, or reshaped by the people and systems around them.
So today's conversation is about what happens when we bring these two traditions together.
We will explore how realist thinking and behavioral science can strengthen each other, and we'll talk about why realist program theories may benefit from a more shared language, and why behavioral science may need a deeper engagement with context.
We will unpack ideas like behavior change techniques, mechanisms of action, behavioral settings, and causal chain configurations, but in a practical way, asking will they actually help us see when we're trying to understand complex interventions in real world healthcare.
And I'm really delighted to welcome Dr. Justin Ondria to "The Realist Lens" to speak about his recent publication talking exactly about this topic.
And Justin, thank you so much for joining us.
How are you today? Good, good afternoon.
