BJ Fogg, PhD

For over 30 years, BJ Fogg has investigated ways to help people become happier and healthier.

During his doctoral research at Stanford in the 1990s, Fogg conducted experiments that showed the unanticipated power of technology to influence human beliefs and behaviors. In his 2002 book, Persuasive Technology, Dr. Fogg outlined how this power could be leveraged for positive changes in human health and well-being.

In 2010 Fogg’s Stanford focus shifted to fundamental questions about how human behavior works, with a special emphasis on habit formation. Starting in 2011, Fogg began coaching people to form good habits, using a method he called “Tiny Habits.” He interacted with 200 to 300 new people each week for over 8 years, evaluating what worked — and what didn’t. Drawing on his experience coaching over 60,000 people individually, Fogg then authored the New York Times bestselling book Tiny Habits.

Dr. Fogg’s current appointment as Adjunct Professor in Stanford Living Education allows him to research and teach how to build close personal relationships through a systematic approach he calls “Behavior Design.”

Being immersed in nature has guided key decisions in Dr Fogg’s life. As such, he now lives part time in Maui, where he surfs with friends most mornings and then swims alone in the waves most evenings.