Lecture 3 - Health Behaviour Change: Theories

Question 1

What is theory?

Answer 1

• A theory presents a way of understanding events or situations
• It is a road map to intervention development
• It is a set of concepts, definitions, and propositions that EXPLAIN OR PREDICT these events or situations by illustrating the relationships between them
• Theories must be applicable to a broad variety of situations. They are, by nature, abstract, and don’t have a specified content or topic area

Question 2

What do individual and ecological theories influence?

Answer 2

Individuals - focus on cognitions

Environments (and by implication individuals) - there are structural influences. Interdependencies exist among environments (e.g. the ‘spill over’ of workplace stress to home environments)