Psychology 3b - Techniques of Behaviour Change Flashcards
What are behaviour change techniques?
- A systemic strategy used in an attempt to change behaviour
- Techniques (can be observed and measured) vs. interventions (a treatment or action plan that can incorporate multiple techniques)
Give examples of behaviour change techniques
- Providing information on consequences
- Prompting specific goal setting
- Prompting barrier identification
- Modelling the behaviour
- Planning social support
What is the behaviour change taxonomy?
Groups all of the techniques that make up an intervention
Which behaviour change taxonomy is the most effective
Self monitoring has more evidence than any other technique
How is BCT chosen?
- Behavioural target specification
- Behavioural diagnosis
- Intervention strategy selection
- Implementation strategy selection
- Selection of specific BCTs
Use cardiac rehabilitation as an example of behaviour change techniques
- Diet history (Mediterranean diet is the best diet for cardiovascular outcomes)
- Target behaviour towards diet (stage 1, behavioural target specification)
- Behavioural diagnosis performed
- COM-B (use of behaviour change matrix - education and persuasion are appropriate functions)
- Implementation strategy selection would focus on eating healthily on a budget
List the components of behavioural diagnosis. Use cardiac rehabilitation as an example.
- Who (cardiac rehab individuals)
- What (increase meditteranian diet)
- When (every meal)
- How often (as often as possible)
- Where (grocery store)
- Who with (family members/friends)
Use cardiac rehabilitation as an example of COM-B
Capability
- Do individuals have the knowledge of what constitutes the Mediterranean diet?
- Do clients have the mobility and access of local grocery store?
Opportunity
- Is there physical opportunity to obtain necessary foods (are they able to buy fish in local store)
- Social aspects (who they live with, would they be supportive)
Motivation
- Reflective aspect. Patients may benefit from actively thinking of benefits and cons
- Consider mental health and access of healthy foods as a result
What is self monitoring?
- An individual keeping a record of target behaviours
- Additional information recorded can help to identify barriers e.g. mood, weather
- Time-consuming over the long term
- Role in increasing physical activity and healthy eating
What is motivational interviewing?
- A person-centred counselling style for addressing the common problem of ambivalence about change
- Clinicians have an MI spirit, where they are non-judgemental and not focusing on telling people what to do.
- Clinicians need to be flexible, and have MI consistent behaviours (a behaviour is not working)
- MI inconsistent behaviours noticed to increase chance of making a positive behavioural change
- Use of specific techniques
What is looked for in the client during motivational interviewing?
- Change Talk/Intention
- Stage of Change e.g. readiness to change
- Co-operation, engagement or disclosure (client engagement/involvement)
- Resistance to change (client resistance)
- Self-confidence
- Sense of discrepancy
- If the patient is at pre-contemplation be careful to be too assertive
What are implementation intentions?
- Action plans
- Request an individual to think about critical situations to act and appropriate responses within those situations
- If-then model
How do implementation intentions work?
- By planning in advance the situation in which an individual will act, cues become particularly accessible
- Strengthening connection between good situation to act and a suitable action
- Therefore behaviour is more likely to be enacted
What are incentives?
List the pro’s
- Positive reinforcements for change
- Cost-effective
- Raise awareness
- Bring individuals into contact with health services allowing earlier screening and treatment of illness
- Can be effective in changing health and clinical behaviours, thus preventing disease and reducing costs associated with disease
Are incentives effective?
Mixed - some positive findings
Is it better to change multiple behaviours at one time?
- May lead to greater overall change
- However, sub-additivity is an issue (diminished effect of individual behaviours)
Are interventions that comprise more BCTs more effective?
- Yes to a degree
- Moderately complex interventions combining a small number of techniques might be most useful
Does tailoring educational materials to individuals result in larger changes?
Yes – small benefit on effectiveness of behavioural interventions (review of 57 studies)
