Session 3 Flashcards
What are health-related behaviours, and what are some examples?
They are behaviours that might promote or inhibit health:
- Smoking.
- Exercise.
- Drinking alcohol.
- Safe sex behaviour.
- Drug use.
- Healthy diet.
What are learning theories?
They are theories that look at how behaviours are learned through making associations.
Behaviour can be reinforced through associations with sensations, experiences or outcomes.
What is classical conditioning?
It is where a response is conditioned to a stimulus, through unconscious associations.
What is operant conditioning?
Where is response is paired to a stimulus through an outcome; if the outcome is positive then the response is more likely to be learned than if the outcome is negative.
What can reinforce and decrease behaviour in operant conditioning?
Reinforced = rewards/ positive reinforcement, or the removal of an unpleasant stimulus/ negative reinforcement.
Decreased = reward is taken away, or the punishment is given.
What are the limitations of conditioning theories?
People can still make other choices, even if it does not give them an immediate reward.
It does not take into account knowledge, beliefs, memory, attitudes or expectations.
There is no social context applied.
What does the social learning theory state?
Behaviours are learned through observation and vicarious reinforcement (watching somebody succeed).
It states that behaviour is goal-directed.
What influences someone’s likelihood of performing an action, according to the social learning theory?
If they have seen somebody else be successful.
If the person completing the successful action was of high status (such as a celebrity) or of a similar status, showing that the outcome is achievable.
They believe that they can achieve the reward.
What are social cognition models?
They look at how people decide to make decisions and behave in particular ways.
It looks at how people think, feel and reason about their behaviours.
What is the cognitive dissonance theory?
It states that when one person holds a belief about something, they need to be challenged by receiving opposing information to cause disharmony of the mind.
This could be by somebody of high status having given them new information, or by them experiencing something that opposed their previous beliefs.
This leads to them changing their prior beliefs.
What is the health belief model?
It takes into account 3 aspects that all come together to influence the health related behaviour performed:
- The perceived susceptibility and severity about a health threat.
- The cues to action.
- The perceived benefits and barriers to that behaviour.
What is the theory of planned behaviour?
The greatest prediction for a health-related behaviour is intention.
This states that there is 3 things that influence the intention of the behaviour performed:
- The attitudes towards behaviour.
- The subjective norms.
- The perceived behavioural control.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of the theory of planned behaviour?
It is a good predictor of intention.
Intentions do not always equate to outcomes.
For intentions to be implemented, a plan of action should be formed.
What is the COM-B model?
It states that there are 3 requirements for a behaviour to occur:
- Capability; the person must have the physical skills and sufficient knowledge to perform an action.
- Opportunity; they must have the time/ money and social support to be able to perform the behaviour.
- Motivation; they must have the desire, plans and impulses to perform a behaviour.
What is nudge theory?
It is using unconscious influences to cause a certain behaviour to occur.
It involves making changes to the choice architecture, which can be done by changing the environment, by using positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions.
