S4- Theories Of Health Behaviour Flashcards
What are health-related behaviours?
- Anything that promote good health OR lead to illness
- Smoking, drinking drug use
- exercise, eating healthy diet, safer sex behaviour, taking up screening behaviour
What are the 3 classes of theories to help understand peoples health-related behaviour?
- Learning theories
- Social Cognition models
- Integrative models: COM-B
What are the 3 Learning theories?
- Classical conditioning
- Operant conditioning
- Social Learning theory
Classical conditioning theory:
A) How can it be used to interpret why people make negative health choices?
B) How can it be used to encourage change in health behaviour?
A)
- People respond to environmental cues: sights, smells, location, people
- cues may also be emotional (e.g. anxiety)
- cues with connection to drugs/alcohol can trigger behaviour and lead to relapse
B)
- avoid cues/change association with cues
-
Operant conditioning theory:
A) What is it?
B)How can it be used to interpret why people make negative health choices?
C) How can it be used to encourage change in health behaviour?
A) The idea that people will act on the environment and their behaviour is then shaped by the consequences (whether that be a reward or punishment)
- Behaviour increases if rewarded, decreases if punished
B) Unhealthy behaviours can be immediately rewarding (drug taking, alcohol, smoking, chocolate) and ppl avoid consequences such as withdrawal
C) can be used to strategically provide rewards for people i.e. financial incentives
What are the limitations of conditioning theories?
- classical and operant conditioning is based on simple stimulus-response associations
- no account of cognitive processes, knowledge, beliefs, memory, attitudes, expectations etc
- no account of social context
Social Learning Theory:
A) What is it?
B)How can it be used to interpret why people make negative health choices?
C) How can it be used to encourage change in health behaviour?
A)
- How people learn from other people around them
- people learn vicariously (observation/modelling)
- people are motivated to perform behaviours that are valued and that they can enact’
B) - influence of family, peers, media figures, celebrities as role models
- harmful behaviours e.g. drinking, drug use and unsafe sex
C) - you can have positive role models: peer modelling and education
- celebrities can be involved in health promotion campaigns
What are the social cognition models?
- Cognitive dissonance theory
- health belief model
Cognitive dissonance theory
A) What is it
B) how can it be used to change health behaviours?
A) refers to a situation involving attitudes, beliefs or behaviours, this produces a feeling of mental discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs of behaviours to reduce discomfort and restore balance
B) - providing health information which is usually uncomfortable to create mental discomfort that can prompt change in behaviour
What is the social cognition model: health belief model?
- Understanding people’s beliefs about health threat: their perceived susceptibility and severity
- understanding people’s beliefs about health related behaviour: perceived benefits and barriers
- and how this leads to cues to actions—> whether or not they will go for a screen or engage in good health behaviours
Social cognition model: Theory of planned behaviour
- What is it and how can it be used to predict peoples health behaviours?
- Using condom as an example
All about predicting peoples intentions
- 3 key component s in predicting their behaviour:
- Peoples attitudes toward behaviour —> How do people feel about using condoms?
- Subjective norm: social norm- what do people around us think and feel—> do our friends carry condoms?
- Perceived control: whether we think we can engage in this behaviour or not—> if we have the resources to engage i.e. do we have access to a condom, can we bring it up with our partner?
What is the intention behaviour gap? (IBP)
- Good predictor of intentions but poor predictor of behaviour
- the problem is translating intentions into behaviour
What is the integrative model for targeted intervention?
- Specifying the behaviour to be changed
- Behavioural diagnosis: understanding the nature of the behaviour and underpinning influences
- Prescription: choose behaviour change technique matched to diagnosis
Why don’t people behave in ways that promote health?
- Lack of capability (inadequate knowledge and/or skills)
- insufficient opportunity- lacking time, resources or environment
- Lack of motivation: healthy behaviours often difficult, boring or unpleasant
What is the COM-B model?
To understand behaviour, need to understand:
- Capability, motivation and opportunity
