13.2: Behavioral Change Theories and Models

Why do people engage in some health behaviors and not others? One of the earliest models describing behavior is classical conditioning, as demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov’s experiments with dogs. In these experiments, Pavlov noticed that the dogs would salivate when hearing noises associated with feeding time. He then began to ring a bell before feeding them, and eventually they associated the bell with food and would salivate at the sound of the bell. Classical conditioning has been used as a model to treat cravings, phobias, or even bedwetting (Rehman et al., 2023). Subsequent behavioral researchers like B.F. Skinner proposed a stimulus response model that is based on the behavior’s subsequent result - either reinforcement or punishment (McKenzie et al., 2017). These reinforcements or punishments may be artificially imposed by ourselves or authority figures such as parents, employers, or government, or they may be natural consequences of behaviors. For example, if a person discovers that they are in a better mood after they exercise, they are more likely to continue the exercise behavior because they expect the happy feelings to follow. Alternatively, if they associate exercise with debilitating muscle soreness, they are likely to avoid it!

Is human behavior really this simple though? Perhaps on the surface, for an individual person who is trying to change their own behavior or prompt a child’s (or perhaps a dog’s) behaviors, these models can be useful. However, they tend to ignore the rest of that individual’s life and lived experience; including the complexities of intrapersonal factors (such as beliefs and attitudes), interpersonal factors (such as cultural and social norms, and support systems), and environmental factors (such as economics, their physical environment, and politics). Other models of behavior expand into these different areas.