Séminaire LAPPS : Using psychological theory to promote health behaviour change

Martin S. Hagger is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Health Psychology and Behavioural Medicine Research Group, School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia.
He is also a Finland Distinguished Professor, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.

http://martinhagger.com/

Using Psychological Theory to Promote Health Behaviour Change

Many chronic illnesses and conditions linked to premature death and long-term impairments in functioning and quality of life have behavioural origins. Research has suggested that engaging in a suite of four behaviours (engaging in regular physical activity, following a healthy diet, drinking alcohol only in moderation, and not smoking) is associated with an 11-year delay in all-cause mortality. Behavioural interventions aimed at promoting participation in these behaviours have considerable potential to reduce chronic disease risk. Behavioural scientists and health psychologists have leveraged theories and models from social psychology to identify the antecedents of health behaviour. Evidence from research applying these theories is expected to provide a basis for identifying manipulable factors to target for effective behavioural interventions.
Rather than focusing on a single theory, I adopt a comprehensive approach in which variables and processes from theories of motivation, social cognition, volition, and impulsive processes are integrated to model the factors and processes that relate to health behaviour change. I will outline the hypotheses underpinning the integrated model and the psychological factors and processes that impact health behaviour. I will provide the conceptual and empirical bases of the model and demonstrate its utility in driving future research and developing effective interventions to promote engagement in health behaviour. The model incorporates three basic processes: motivational, volitional, and implicit, and incorporates them in a single ‘dual-phase’, ‘dual-process’ model. The motivational process has its origins in theories focusing on the organismic and social cognitive factors involved in the development of motives and intentions to engage in health behaviour.
The volitional process originates from dual-phase models of action in which behavioural engagement is dependent on planning processes that enable motives or intentions to be fulfilled. The model also distinguishes between explicit (deliberative, reasoned) and implicit (automatic, non-conscious) influences on behaviour. Explicit processes describe how actions are a function of conscious deliberation over the merits and detriments of an action. Implicit processes encompass factors that determine action beyond an individual’s awareness with little cognitive or deliberative. I will outline empirical research that has incorporated these processes to arrive at comprehensive explanations of health behaviour change.
I will outline how the model can be used to develop effective evidence-based interventions to change health behaviour by matching intervention content and, in particular the strategies and techniques used, to the factors related to health behaviour.