Visualizing the Dynamics of the KAB Model with Sankey Diagrams

The Knowledge-Attitude-Behavior (KAB) model is a well-established theoretical framework applied across multiple disciplines to explore and address the key factors influencing user behavior, ultimately driving better outcomes. Despite the widespread use of the KAB model in academia and the industry, the exploration of viable data visualization techniques for the KAB framework received less attention. As a result, the existing approaches to representing the results involve a limited set of techniques that might not effectively communicate the relationships between knowledge, attitude, and behavior, particularly to non-technical audiences. This paper proposes a more systematic use of Sankey diagrams as a visualization method for reporting the findings of studies based on the KAB framework. Thanks to the use of flows, Sankey diagrams can offer a more intuitive representation of how an individual's knowledge influences their attitude, which, in turn, affects their behavior. We detail how Sankey diagrams can enhance data visualization in the context of observational and experimental research studies, provide technical audiences with more intuitive visual insights, and help communicate findings to the general public.