Understanding Change
Make room for a practical next step.
Plan a feasible habit experiment and revise it using what happens.
Part of the AURIS approach to identity, stability and human development.
- Applied
- £19.00
- 4 lessons
- Certificate on completion
- About 45 minutes
Explore uncertainty, familiar patterns and the conditions that help a new habit fit. Develop a small experiment with a fallback and review.
One-off purchase with lifetime course access. Sign in or create a free learner account to buy. Lessons open in order as you complete the required work, with no daily waiting period.
What you'll leave with
A map of the cue and context supporting one habit, a small repeatable action, and a realistic next step with a review point.
Watch the course introduction
Watch this before you begin
Change is not only an event; it alters expectations, roles and the story we tell ourselves about what comes next. Watch this conversation before the course and notice what had to be understood before adaptation became possible.
£19.00 one-off payment, lifetime access
- 1. Sign in, or create a free account. It takes a name, an email address and a password.
- 2. Pay by card on the course page. The payment form is Stripe's own, so AURIS never sees or stores your card details.
- 3. The course opens straight away and stays in your library. There is no subscription and nothing renews.
A certificate is issued when you finish every lesson and pass the assessment.
Course illustration
Who this course is for
“How do I take a practical next step when things change?”
For people facing a chosen or imposed change in work or everyday life. Separate immediate needs from optional reflection, examine a familiar pattern, plan a realistic cue and action, and review a next step without promising an outcome. Use familiar or anonymised situations; personal disclosure is not required.
Suggested learning pathways
Where this course fits
- Where it sits
- Specialist learning that can be taken on its own, in any order.
- What usually comes before
- Nothing. This is a starting point, and the free Introduction to AURIS is always open alongside it.
- What usually comes next
- Whatever fits your situation. See the five pathways.
A pathway is a suggested order, not a requirement. Nothing here has to be bought to make this course work.
About this course and why it matters
About this course
Explore uncertainty, familiar patterns and the conditions that help a new habit fit. Develop a small experiment with a fallback and review.
Why this matters
Change can involve practical barriers as well as habits. The course helps you distinguish them before choosing an action.
What you will learn
- Explain why familiar patterns can become easier to repeat without describing the brain as simply resisting change
- Identify the cue, context and repetition supporting one current habit
- Design one small behaviour that can be repeated in a stable context
- Write a realistic next step and review point rather than a fixed prediction of the next six months
Course curriculum · 4 lessons
Course curriculum
4 lessons. The lesson content itself opens once you start the course.
Lesson 1 · about 11 minutes
Change Happens To Everyone
Separate the change itself, an immediate practical need and an optional learning step.
- Compare chosen and imposed change and identify a practical need in each example.
- Explain when learning or reflection can sit alongside clarification, support or challenge.
Lesson 2 · about 11 minutes
Why familiar patterns are hard to change
Map a cue-response pattern and choose one feasible adjustment without overstating its result.
- Map a specific cue, response and consequence and propose a feasible adjustment.
- Distinguish an observed result from a causal claim, a brain explanation or permanent change.
Lesson 3 · about 11 minutes
Building New Habits
Plan a realistic cue-action trial, record repetition accurately and prepare a flexible restart.
- Plan one feasible cue-action trial with a minimum action and restart.
- Explain why two repetitions or an interruption do not establish automaticity or erase previous attempts.
Lesson 4 · about 12 minutes
Looking Forward
Separate a feasible action from an uncertain outcome and choose when to review the plan.
- Distinguish a feasible next action from an outcome that involves other people.
- Identify a resource or access need and a review point that can change the direction or method.
What is included
Some full lesson recordings need updating. The written lessons and exercises are available.
- Guided reflections
- Interactive exercises
- Practical activities
- Downloadable worksheets
- Assessment
- Portfolio work
- Certificate on completion
Before you start
None. This course stands alone.
After you finish
After you finish
If this was useful, choose the situation pathway or specialist course that fits what you are dealing with next. There is no compulsory paid next step.
Common questions
How much does Understanding Change cost?
It is £19, paid once. You keep lifetime access to the course, including future research driven updates. There is no subscription or renewal.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. Complete every lesson and pass the required assessment to receive an AURIS Certificate of Completion in your name. It records your learning. The separate Practitioner Certification is an internal AURIS programme; neither certificate is an externally accredited qualification or a clinical licence to practise.
How long does it take, and is it self-paced?
Study at your own pace. Lessons open in sequence after you complete the previous lesson; there is no daily waiting period for this course, and the course is designed to take about 45 minutes in total.
What work do I need to complete?
Lessons include practical activities and saved reflections. Some courses also require portfolio entries and an assessment; the lesson and assessment pages identify required work. Use familiar or anonymised situations where appropriate and avoid identifying details. Reading or listening alone does not complete a lesson.
Do I need to do anything before this course?
None. This course stands alone.
Next steps and related courses
Course progression
- Foundation
- Applied
- Practitioner
AURIS CORE 3 of 7. Understand change, familiar patterns and behaviour change. It explains why change can be difficult; Building Stability is the later course for constructing sustainable structure.
Evidence, sources and limitations
Research and evidence
Habit/action-control review: Buabang et al., Trends in Cognitive Sciences (2025), DOI 10.1016/j.tics.2024.10.006. Habit-formation systematic review/meta-analysis: PMID 39685110. Context-consistency meta-analysis: Zhu et al. (2026), PMID 42586550, DOI 10.1111/aphw.70204. Longitudinal determinants of habit formation: PMID 42053513. Claims remain behavioural and context-sensitive; no fixed habit-formation timescale is taught.
The evidence behind this course
Evidence
Psychology of Habit — Wood and Rünger, 2016 (Read source)
Habitual behaviour is strongly shaped by repeated context and cues.
Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis — Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006 (Read source)
Specific implementation intentions support translating intentions into action.
How AURIS interprets it
- AURIS applies habit and implementation-intention evidence to understanding patterns and follow-through without claiming change follows one timetable.
What you do with it
- Plan a feasible habit experiment and revise it using what happens.
- Use ordinary or fictional examples. The exercise does not establish a diagnosis, cause or practitioner competence.
Ready to begin?
£19.00 one-off payment, with lifetime access to the course.