L7: Health Behaviours I

Question 1

What is meant by health related behaviours?

Answer 1

Anything that promotes good health or lead to illness e.g. smoking, drinking, drug use, exercise, healthy eating, safe sex, screening (protective)

Question 2

Why do we have concerns about health related behaviours?

Answer 2

Lots of diseases caused by health related behaviours (1/3 of disease)
Big contribution to ill health
Something we can change

Question 3

Why do people behave the way they do?

Answer 3

Health related behaviour theories

1. Learning theories
2. Social cognition models
3. Integrative model- COM-B

Question 4

What are the different types of learning theories?

Answer 4

1. Classical conditioning
2. Operant conditioning
3. Social learning theory

Question 5

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 5

Behaviours associated with certain stimuli- environmental, emotional, connections to drugs/alcohol etc…
Pavlov’s Dogs

Question 6

How can health behaviours be changed after classical conditioning? Give an example of how this is done?

Answer 6

Avoid cues or change the association with the cues
Alcohol misuse- given alcohol with a medication which induces nausea
Means that alcohol become associated with nausea and helps the person to avoid it

Question 7

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 7

Associations between an activity and a reward or punishment
People/ animals act on the environment→ behaviour is shaped by the consequences (reward or punishment)
e.g. behaviour increases if it is rewarded and the punishment is removed
behaviour decreases if it is punished and the reward is removed

Question 8

What is the problem with health related behaviours due to operant conditioning?

Answer 8

Unhealthy behaviours are immediately rewarding e.g. chocolate, alcohol, smoking all give immediate pleasure
People are driven by short term rewards and avoiding short term negative consequences (withdrawal)

Question 9

What is concern about health related behaviour due to operant conditioning?

Answer 9

Moral and ethical dilemma

e.g. should financial incentives be used to encourage healthy behaviour?

Question 10

What is social learning theory?

Answer 10

People learn from what they see around them and then model that behaviour
Bobo doll experiment (children’s behaviour towards the doll after watching how a teacher behaved towards it)

Question 11

How does social learning theory affect health related behaviours?

Answer 11

Behaviour is goal directed
Motivated to perform behaviours that are valued (rewarded) or achievable (self efficacy)
Learnt from observation of others

Question 12

What are some of the role models for health related behaviours?

Answer 12

Media
Celebrities 
TV, film etc 
Family 
Friends 
Peers

Question 13

What are the limitations of classical conditioning and operant conditioning?

Answer 13

Based on stimulus-response associations
No account of cognitive processes, knowledge, beliefs, memory, attitudes, expectations etc…
No account of social context

Question 14

How can social learning theories be positive for health related behaviours?

Answer 14

Positive role models e.g. healthy eating, drinking less, exercise

Question 15

What are the different social cognitive models for health related behaviours?

Answer 15

Cognitive dissonance theory
Health belief models
Theory of planned behaviours

Question 16

What is the cognitive dissonance theory? What is a health example of this?

Answer 16

Get discomfort when beliefs don’t match with reality
Reduce discomfort by altering beliefs or behaviour
Health promotion→ providing health information (usually uncomfortable) creates mental discomfort and can prompt change in behaviour

Question 17

What is an example of how cognitive dissonance is used in society already?

Answer 17

Cigarette packet labels

‘Smoking kills, smoking causes fatal lung cancer, get help to stop smoking: consult your doctor or pharmacist’

Question 18

What is the health belief model?

Answer 18

Based on 3 different things
1. Peoples beliefs about health threat
→ perceived susceptibility, perceived severity
2. Beliefs about health-related behaviour
→ perceived benefits, perceived barrires
3. Cues to action
→ final outcome, reflects believes about threat and benefits/barriers

Question 19

What is the theory of planned behaviour?

Answer 19

3 things affect you intentions towards a behaviour they are:

1. Attitudes towards behaviour→ positive and negatives
2. Subjective norm→ What do people around us think and feel?
3. Perceived control→ self efficacy- can we engage with that behaviour or not?

Question 20

What is the intention behaviour gap?

Answer 20

Problem translating intentions into behaviours

TPB is a good predictor of intentions but poor predictor of behaviour