S4 Flashcards
What is health-related behaviours?
Anything that may promote good health or lead to illness e.g. smoking, taking exercise, eating a healthy diet
State three theories that help us understand people’s health related behaviour
Learning theories, social cognition models, integrative model-COM-B, nudge theory
What are the learning theories?
Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning theory
What is classical conditioning?
Learning by association- two different stimuli-environmental cues e.g. sights, smells, location, people or emotional cues
How can classical conditioning help in changing health behaviour?
Avoid cues/ change association with cues e.g. pair behaviour with an unpleasant response
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning involves changing voluntary behaviours. A behaviour response is followed by either reinforcement or punishment. Reinforcement following a behaviour will cause the behaviour to increase, but if behaviour is followed by punishment the behaviour will decrease.
How does operant conditioning relate to health-related behaviour?
Unhealthy behaviours are immediately rewarding- avoids short term negative consequences
What are the limitations of conditioning theories?
Classical and operant conditioning base on simple stimulus-response associations
No account of cognitive processes, knowledge, beliefs, memory, attitude, social context
What is the social learning theory?
Behaviour is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning. Behaviour is goal-directed. People are motivated to perform behaviours that are valued (lead to rewards), that they believe they can enact (self-efficacy). Modelling more effective if model’s high status or ‘like us’ (value/ability)
How does social learning theory relate to health-related behaviour?
Influence of family, peers, media figures, celebrities as role models- can be negative role models
What are the positives to the social learning theory?
Peer modelling/education, celebrities in health promotion campaigns
What are the social cognition model theories?
Cognitive dissonance theory, health belief model, theory of planned behaviour
What is the cognitive dissonance theory?
there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions (i.e., beliefs, opinions). When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviours (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the dissonance
How does the cognitive dissonance theory relate to health promotion?
Proving information that is usually uncomfortable creates mental discomfort and can prompt change in behaviour
What is the health belief model?
People are most likely to take preventative action if they perceive the threat of a health risk to be serious, if they feel they are personally susceptible and if there are fewer costs than benefits to engaging in it.
Behaviour change interventions are more effective if they address an individual’s specific perceptions about susceptibility, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy.
Beliefs about health threat and beliefs about health-related behaviour, cues to action
What is the theory of planned behaviour?
The theory states that attitude toward behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control, together shape an individual’s behavioural intentions and behaviours
What are the limitations of TBP?
Good predictor of intentions but poor predictor of behaviours. Problem is translating intentions into behaviour. Solution= implementation intentions
What are implementation intentions?
Implementation intentions support goal intentions by setting out in advance when/where and how I will achieve this goal
What are the problems of interventions to change behaviour?
Multiple and poorly-integrated models of behaviour-suggesting different targets for behaviour change
Why don’t people behave in ways that promote health?
Lack of capability (inadequate knowledge and/or skills), insufficient opportunity, motivation (desire) at key moment to engage in healthy behaviour is lacking
What is the COM-B model of behaviour?
(‘capability’, ‘opportunity’, ‘motivation’ and ‘behaviour’) model
Capability: physical and psychological capability- knowledge, skill, strength, stamina
Motivation: reflective and automatic motivation- plans, evaluations, desires and impulses
Opportunity: physical and social opportunity: time, resources, cues/prompts
What are the key influences on behaviour?
Psychological capability- Knowledge and motivation- beliefs about consequences
What is the nudge theory?
80% of human behaviour is automatic, with people responding to cues in the environment that unconsciously shape their choices-aka choice architecture. Making simple changes to the choice architecture to steer decisions in the right direction.
What is need for a nudge to be successful?
It must decrease the effort required to make the desire choice and improve our motivation to opt for that choice
