Addiction: TPB Flashcards
Draw the TPB model
Outline perceived behavioural control
How much the person believes they can control their behaviour (gambling/smoking/drinking/drug taking). Influenced by their assessment of internal factors -such as their skills, drive, willpower, and external factors such as education, support from others and past experiences.
e.g. I have willpower, and patches to help me, and the support of my family. I’ve already cut back the amount of cigarettes I smoke, so I will be able to cut them out altogether.
higher levels of this equate to higher intentions as well as greater perserversnce to achieve chnage
Outline subjective norm
The perception of what YOUR significant others think about gambling/smoking/drinking/drug taking. Is it socially acceptable? Is everyone else doing it? These type of norms are influential if the individual wants to conform to the group.
e.g. none of my friends smoke because they think it is unhealthy, I want to be like my friends.
relates to subjective awareness of social norms relating to specific addictions
Outline behavioural attitude
A positive or negative evaluation of the behaviour (gambling/drinking, smoking/drug taking) combined with a belief about the outcome-or consequences- of the behaviour.
e.g. smoking is a dirty habit and giving up will be good for my health.
the belief that beh’ leads to certain outcomes, as well as their evaluations of these outcomes
Define intention
make a decision that they are going to do something
i am going to stop smoking
Outline behaviour
act upon intentions/perceived control
People who have a positive attitude to giving up…..
using TPB
For example;-People who have a positive attitude to giving up smoking;
who want to conform to the subjective norms of a group that is anti-addiction e.g. anti-smoking
who believe they can control their behaviour and have the resources and skills to give up the addiction
will have an intention to give up and will successfully give up.
People who have a negative attitude towards giving up…
using TPB
People who have a negative attitude towards giving up-who think it will be too unpleasant,
whose reference group are still addicts, and who wants to continue to belong to this group, and conform to their subjective norms,
and who do not think they will be able to control their urge to smoke/gamble/drink/take drugs,
will not have any intention of giving up and will not give up.
Outline how TPB can be utilised to try and change addictive behaviours: changing behavioural intentions
Many campaigns e.g. to lower teen drug use, try to include a
focus on changing the attitudes of the target audience
towards the drug identified. For example, trying to
demonstrate that taking the drug is incompatible with the
individual’s other goals e.g. getting a good job/having the
career they desire. The aim is that this will make people
rethink their behaviour and decide that it is not the best thing
Outline how TPB can be utilised to try and change addictive behaviours: changing perceived behavioural control
Research by Godin et al 1992 found that one of the most important predictors of
actual smoking BEHAVIOUR was perceived behavioural control. This suggests that
strategies to help people break smoking addiction should focus on developing willpower
and informing individuals of the effort that will be required to stop smoking. Thus they
will have greater perceived control and be able to break the habit
Outline how TPB can be utilised to try and change addictive behaviours: increasing self-efficacy
According to the TPB, self-efficacy
(an individual’s belief that they are
capable of behaving in a certain way) is an important factor in predicting
their ability to change their behaviour and give up an addiction.
This means that increasing an
individual’s self-efficacy, by encouraging their belief in their own
ability to abstain from their addictive behaviour should be an important part of any treatment plan for addicts.
Outline how TPB can be utilised to try and change addictive behaviours: changing subjective norms
Anti-drugs campaigns often try to correct misperceptions in terms of levels of drug taking/smoking amongst teens.
E.g. adolescents who smoke are usually part of a peer group who smoke and therefore may have the perception that ‘all teenagers smoke’ when actually this is not the case.
This means that those trying to reduce smoking addiction can try to correct these kinds of subjective norms and give people accurate information about e.g. smoking prevalence.
Evaluating TPB : evidence
Hagger et al
There is evidence to support the TPB as a model of behavioural change
Hagger et al 2011
tested TPB with regards to alcohol related behaviours, with 486 employees from Estonia, Finland, Sweden and UK
Found 3 factors - personal attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control all predicted behavioural intentions to limit alcohol intake = Best predictor was perceived behavioural control
This suggests that…. TPB can accurately predict dangerous and unwanted addictive behaviours
Evaluating TPB : too rational
The model is criticised for EXPLAINING ADDICTIONS in a way that is too rational.
not all behaviour is planned - esp addictions
E.g. Very few people start gambling and plan to become addicted- could be considered an impulse disorder (i.e. driven by emotion that’s not always rational)
This suggests that TPB may not be suitable as a complete explanation for understanding addictive behaviours.
Evaluating TPB : practical applications
The TPB - can be put to good effect in a therapeutic climate
AS THIS IS A COGNITIVE MODEL, can be used effectively as part of CBT - E.g. Can be used within HW assignments by testing perceived behavioural control
This could imply… the TPB can be readily applied to help the huge amount of people suffering from addictions
