Health Behavior Theories and Models

Perceived Threat

In the Health Belief Model, the product of perceived seriousness and perceived susceptibility ($\text{perceived seriousness} \times \text{perceived susceptibility}$).

Perceived Benefits vs. Barriers

The cognitive calculation of what positive outcomes would result from taking an action versus what drawbacks accompany that same action.

Cues to Action

Internal or external stimuli in your environment that motivate you to perform a health behavior.

Self-Efficacy

The personal belief in one's own ability to successfully execute a behavior (e.g., believing 'I can drive myself to the pharmacy').

Modifying Variables

Previous factors and individual characteristics that can drive an individual toward or away from performing a health behavior.

Cognitive Theory ABCs

A foundational cognitive framework where A represents the activating event, B represents belief, and C represents the emotional consequence.

Volitional Behavior

An internally generated action chosen through the central nervous system (CNS) and cognitive control that requires conscious choice.

Belief Strength

The degree to which an individual deeply or powerfully holds a particular belief.

Belief Evaluation

An individual's assessment of whether the expected outcome of a behavior will be good or bad.

Normative Belief

An individual's perception of what important referent individuals around them think about performing a specific behavior.

Motivation to Comply

The degree to which an individual cares about and wants to conform to the opinions and beliefs of referent others.

Subjective Norm

The perceived social pressure to perform or not perform a behavior, rooted in individual perception.

Behavioral Intention

An individual's conscious decision or readiness to perform or not perform a behavior; the most important determinant of behavior.

Sense of Agency

The subjective feeling that one is in control of one's own actions and choices.

Cognitive Control

Executive thinking, planning, and decision-making functions managed by areas of the brain such as the prefrontal cortex.

Four Elements of Behavior

The four specific components required to operationalize a behavior: action, target, context, and time.

Control Beliefs

An individual's beliefs regarding the presence or absence of factors that act as facilitators or barriers to behavioral performance.

Perceived Control

How much an individual believes they can perform a behavior, reflecting their assessment of how easy or difficult that behavior is.

Experiential Attitude

The affective or emotional response associated with performing a behavior.

Instrumental Attitude

The cognitive, outcome-oriented evaluation of performing a behavior.

Injunctive Norm

Perceptions concerning what behaviors others think should or ought to be performed, formed by normative beliefs and motivation to comply.

Descriptive Norm

An individual's perception of what behaviors other people are actually engaging in.

Personal Agency

An individual's capability to originate actions, comprised of perceived control (ease/difficulty) and self-efficacy (belief in capability).

Capacity

An individual's self-confidence in their ability to perform a specific behavior.

Autonomy

The perception that engaging in a specific behavior is under one's own personal control.

Consciousness Raising

A process of change involving increased awareness about a behavior and its causes/consequences, utilized in stages 2, 3, and 4.

Dramatic Relief

A process of change involving the emotional awareness and experiencing of affective reactions to a health behavior, utilized in stages 2 and 3.

Self-Reevaluation

A process of change involving cognitive and affective self-assessment of one's identity and values regarding a behavior, utilized in stages 3 and 4.

Environmental Reevaluation

A process of change assessing how one's own behavior affects one's physical and social environment, utilized in stages 2, 3, and 4.

Self-Liberation

A process of change characterized by the belief that one can change and the commitment to act on that belief, utilized in stages 2 and 3.

Helping Relationships

A process of change involving surrounding oneself with people who are open, supportive, and accepting of behavior change, used in stages 4 and 5.

Counterconditioning

A process of change focused on learning and substituting healthier coping behaviors in place of unhealthy ones, used in stages 3