The Theory of Planned Behaviour - Addiction Flashcards
What is TBP?
A cognitive theory about the factors that lead to a persons decision to engage in a behaviour
What is behavioural attitude?
Personal views: the attitude toward the behaviour (how desirable it is)
- attitude it formed on the basis of beliefs about the consequences of preforming the behaviour and the appraisal of these consequences
E.g. someone may believe that smoking has serious health risks or may think it reduces stress
What are subjective norms?
A product of social influences:
- the individuals own belief about what we think significant others feel is the right thing to do (injunctive norm)
- our perceptions of what other people are actually doing ( descriptive norm)
e. g. we may think that smoking is the norm due to the media/peer groups
What is perceived behavioural control?
The extent to which the person believes that a behaviour is attainable or possible:
- the more control people believe they have over the behaviour, the stronger the intention to actually preform the behaviour
- if they believe they have the will power required to give up + think its easy = more likely to give up
also smoking and gambling are extremely easy to access
How can TPB be used for Addiction Prevention?
- used to explain the processes that lead to addiction
- way to understanding prevention and treatment
- develop appropriate programmes to bring about long-lasting changes in addictive behaviour e.g. change someones PBC
What is an example of changing behavioural attitude?
Cannabis:
- US office of National Drug Control Policy launched a 2005 campaign to lower teenage cannabis use
- tried to change attitudes towards the effect of cannabis used, namely it is inconsistent with being autonomous and achieving aspirations
= more successful than previous campaigns which focused on the risk of abuse
What is an example of changing the subjective norm?
Wilson and Kolander:
- adolescents who smoke are usually part of a peer group who smoke, so might think it is the norm
- many adolescents don’t smoke so exposure to the stats should correct the subjective norm
What is an example of changing perceived behavioural control?
Godin et al:
- found the 3 elements of TPB helped to explain intentions, whereas only PBC was the most important predictor of ultimate human behaviour
= prevention programs should help smokers focus on the will-power required to give up + alert them to the effort that is required
What is Self-Efficacy?
A person’s belief in their own competence
- TBP proposes that intentions to change behaviour will be stronger in people who have an increased sense of control
What did Majer et al find about Self-Efficacy?
That encouraging an addict’s belief in their ability to abstain was relate to optimism and a positive outcome
What did Norman et al find?
Statistical analysis revealed that intention to quit smoking was primarily predicted by perceived behavioural control and perceived susceptibility
= results suggest that the interventions should focus on perceptions of susceptibility and control to increase smokers’ motivation to quit
