Health Psychology, Behavior, and Adherence
Psychology and Health Outcomes
Why Health Behavior Is Hard to Change
Health behavior is shaped by habits, risk perception, self-efficacy, social support, access, and emotion. Effective interventions address both the person and the environment rather than relying solely on education.
Behavior Change Principle
Knowledge is necessary but rarely sufficient; environments must make the healthy choice easier.
Common Health Constructs
Individual vs Environmental Intervention
Individual-focused
- Targets knowledge, skills, and motivation
- Useful in counseling and coaching
- Can blame the person when barriers are structural
Environmental-focused
- Changes defaults, access, and cues
- Often has broader population impact
- Requires institutional or policy support
Which construct most directly predicts persistence in a new behavior when barriers appear?
Belief in one’s ability to act under difficulty strongly supports persistence.
Correct answer: Self-efficacy
Why is adherence often lower than intention?
Intention does not guarantee action when real-world obstacles arise.
Correct answer: Because habits, barriers, forgetfulness, stress, and environmental constraints interfere with follow-through.
Planning a Health Behavior Intervention
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Step 1: Define the target behavior and population.
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Step 2: Diagnose barriers at individual and structural levels.
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Step 3: Select theory-linked mechanisms.
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Step 4: Build reminders, cues, and support systems.
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Step 5: Track adherence and health outcomes over time.
An intervention that changes cafeteria defaults to make healthy options easier is primarily targeting:
Changing choice architecture alters behavior through the environment.
Correct answer: Environmental architecture