Lifestyles and Health Behavior According to Psychologists

Lifestyles and Health Behavior According to Psychologists

Psychologists have created a number of theories to explain why it is

that people continue to practice bad behaviours such as smoking, when

they are aware of the dangers involved. The health belief model

created by Becker and Rosenstock in 1984 describes that people will

only practice good behaviours such as visiting the doctor when making

assessments of:

Ø Perceived seriousness of health problem

Ø Perceived susceptibility

Ø Perceived costs and benefits.

For example the HBM predicts that an individual will only quit smoking

if she believes that she is likely to get lung cancer, that lung

cancer is a severe health threat, that the benefits of being a

non-smoker are high, the benefits of being a smoker are low. The HBM

also states that we need cues to action to act as a trigger, for

example an individual may quit smoking when she reads or hears about a

long-term smoker dying of lung cancer.

The theory of planned behaviour model states that you cannot predict

someone's behaviour simply by knowing about their attitudes, but you

need to know about their behavioural intention. Behavioural intentions

are predicted through three factors;

Ø Attitudes towards a behaviour (knowing the effects and outcomes of

the behaviour)

Ø Subjective norm (pressures and perceptions in society)

Ø Perceived behavioural control (considering external and internal

control factors relating to past behaviour when deciding if the

individual can carry out the particular behaviour.)

Again, when applied to smoking cessation; if an individual believed

that quitting smoking would...

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against the study but it does help us understand why people smoke.

They don't see themselves getting cancer. People drink excessive

alcohol and they bet but they can't see themselves getting addicted.

c) Using psychological research to support your suggestion, describe

one feature of a programme designed to encourage women to carry out

breast self examination.

The focus of bad behaviour usually related to giving up bad habits

such as smoking, excessive drinking or a bad diet. But it is also

essential that we generate new habits and carry out preventive

actions. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK.

One in nine women will develop breast cancer at some point during

their lifetime. For this reason it is quite important that women know

how, when and why to carry out breast self examination.