3a. What is a Behaviour Change Theory?  

For the purposes of health promotion and disease prevention initiatives, this definition of theory is commonly used.

Theory: “Systematically organized knowledge applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances … devised to analyze, predict, or otherwise explain the nature or behaviour of a specified set of phenomena … [that could be] used as the basis for action.”1

A fully developed theory that is useful for planning behaviour change interventions is characterized by three major elements:2

  1. It explains the major factors affecting the public health issue of interest (e.g., why some people are more physically active than others).
  2. It delineates a relationship between these factors, such as the relationship between knowledge, beliefs, social norms, and behaviours related to healthy eating.
  3. It specifies the conditions under which these relationships take place (e.g., the time, place, or circumstances that would lead someone to undertake a smoking cessation attempt).

This module as well as Module 4 explore the key theories underlying population health strategies. This module focuses on a subset of theories developed through the application of psychological concepts to health behaviour change. These theories have been especially influential in the United States, where for the past fifty years researchers have sought to explain, predict, and make positive changes to population-level health behaviours through the application of theories and models arising from the field of psychology.2,3

Key Behaviour Change Theories

The assigned readings summarize over a dozen behaviour change theories. The number of variables and constructs specified in these theories can be both daunting and confusing. To help, here are short videos explaining four of the more commonly cited behaviour change theories with user-friendly language and examples.

Health Belief Model

This video provides a helpful introduction to health behaviour change theories and an overview of the Health Belief Model, one of the oldest and most widely used models for behaviour change.4

 

Candice Rideout. (2015, December 21). FNH 473 Video 1: Introduction to Health Behaviour Theories. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OexKKEUIgSU

 

Transtheoretical (a.k.a. Stages of Change) Model of Behaviour Change

This video provides an overview of the Transtheoretical (a.k.a. Stages of Change) Model of Behaviour Change, which classifies individuals according to their degree of readiness to undertake a health-related behaviour change.5

 

Nathan Smith. (2013, November 1). Trans-Theoretical Model of Behaviour Change. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO80XyBDrl0

 

Theory of Planned Behaviour

This video reviews the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which is based on the assumption that intention to act is the most immediate driver of behaviour, and that the range of other factors affecting behaviour are mediated through behavioural intention.6,7

 

QUT IFB101. (2015, March 8). Theory of Planned Behaviour. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZsxuD3gExE

 

Social Cognitive Theory

Finally, this video describes the key concepts underlying Social Cognitive Theory, which views learning and resultant changes in behaviour as products of the interaction between individuals and their environments.8

 

Melita Pineda. (2016, June 30). Albert Bandura Social Cognitive Theory and Vicarious Learning. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbruJh0MODI

 

References

  1. Van Ryn, M., & Heany, C.A. (1992). What’s the use of theory? Health Education Quarterly, 19(3), 315–330.
  2. Nutbeam, D., & Harris, E. (1998). Theory in a nutshell: A practitioner’s guide to commonly used theories and models in health promotion. Sydney, Australia: National Centre for Health Promotion, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Sydney.
  3. Glanz, K., Rimer, B.K., & Viswanath, K. (Eds, 2015). Health behavior and health education: Theory, research and practice (5th ed.). San Francisco: Wiley.
  4. Janz, N.K., & Becker, N.H. (1984). The health belief model: A decade later. Health Education Quarterly, 11(1), 1–47.
  5. Prochaska, J.O., Velicer, W.F., Rossi, J.S., Goldstein, M.G., Marcus, B.H., Rakowski, W., ... & Rossi, S.R. (1994). Stages of change and decisional balance for 12 problem behaviors. Health Psychology, 13(1), 39–51.
  6. Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
  7. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.
  8. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.