HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY

THEORIES & MODELS

WEEK 3
 TOPICS FOR THIS WEEK

 Section 1
 Review of weeks 1 & 2
 Definition of Behaviourism / Behaviourist theory
 Group feedback on research task – Pavlov’s Dogs; Little Albert; Skinner Box
 Classical and Operant Conditioning
 Albert Bandura and Social Learning theory
 Section 2
 Theory / Practice link – Health Belief Model
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S. DAVIES 2016
 REVIEW OF WEEKS 1 & 2

 Quiz – answer the questions, leaving room to amend, or add to, your answers
during class feedback.

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 BEHAVIOURISM

According to this theory:

 There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in
other animals.
 People have no free will – a person’s environment determines their behaviour.
 When born our mind is 'tabula rasa' (a blank slate).
 All behaviour, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a simple stimulus –
response association.

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 BEHAVIOURISM

 Behaviourism suggests that all behaviour can be explained by environmental

causes rather than by internal forces like thinking and emotion.
 Behaviourism is focused on observable behaviour which can be scientifically
measured.
 Associated with the work of Ivan Pavlov, John Watson and Frederic Skinner.
 The behavioural school of psychology had a significant influence on the course of
psychology, and many of the ideas and techniques that emerged from this school of
thought are still widely used today.

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 CLASSICAL & OPERANT CONDITIONING

Over to You!
 Group 1 – Pavlov’s Dogs experiment and your explanation of Classical Conditioning
 Group 2 – Little Albert experiment and your explanation of Classical Conditioning
 Group 3 – Skinner Box experiment and your explanation of Operant Conditioning
 You have 10 minutes to review your individual notes and write some group feedback.

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CLASSICAL CONDITIONING – KEY POINTS

 Classical conditioning theory involves learning a new behaviour by a process of

association.
 In simple terms two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in
a person or animal. 
 Classical conditioning involves learning to associate an unconditioned stimulus that
already brings about a particular response (i.e. a reflex action) with a new
(conditioned) stimulus, so that the new stimulus brings about the same response.

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 PAVLOV’S DOGS AND CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

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OPERANT CONDITIONING – KEY POINTS
 Changing of behaviour by the use of reinforcement which is given after the
desired response.
 Behaviour which is reinforced tends to be repeated.
 Positive reinforcement strengthens a behaviour by providing a consequence an
individual finds rewarding.
 Negative reinforcement - the removal of an unpleasant reinforcer can also strengthen
behaviour
 Punishment is defined as the opposite of reinforcement since it is designed to
weaken or eliminate a behaviour rather than increase it. It is an aversive event that
decreases the behaviour that it follows.
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SKINNER & OPERANT CONDITIONING

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CRITICAL EVALUATION

 Can you think of any drawbacks with the behavioural theories of classical and
operant conditioning?

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CRITICAL EVALUATION

 Classical and Operant conditioning emphasize the importance of learning from the
environment, and support nurture over nature, this is deterministic, it does not allow
for ‘free will’ and underestimates the complexity of human behaviour. 
 Classical & Operant conditioning fail to take into account the role of inherited
and cognitive factors in learning, and therefore provide an incomplete explanation of
the learning process in humans and animals.
 Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) suggests that humans can learn through
observation as well as through personal experience.

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 DESPITE THEIR THEORETICAL LIMITATIONS TECHNIQUES BASED ON
CLASSICAL & OPERANT CONDITIONING ARE WIDELY USED IN HEALTH
PSYCHOLOGY

 How do you think techniques based on classical and operant conditioning may be
used to modify and / or change health behaviour?
 Working in your groups research and identify some applications of the theories
in relation to health behaviour ?
 Choose a member of the group to feedback to the class – you have 10 minutes for
this task.

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SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

 In social learning theory Albert Bandura (1977) agrees with the behaviourist learning
theories of classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
 However, he adds two important ideas:
 Mediating (intervening) processes occur between stimuli & responses.
 Behaviour is learned from the environment through the process of observational
learning.

BANDURA, A. (1977). SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY. ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ: PRENTICE HALL. 14

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY (SLT)

 SLT is often described as the ‘bridge’ between behaviourism and the cognitive

approach. This is because it focuses on how mental (cognitive) factors are involved in
learning.
 Unlike Skinner, Bandura (1977) believes that humans are active information
processors and think about the relationship between their behaviour and its
consequences, individuals do not automatically observe behaviour and then imitate it.
 According to Bandura (1977) these cognitive or thinking factors mediate (i.e.
intervene) in the learning process to determine whether a new response is developed.

BANDURA, A. (1977). SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY. ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ: PRENTICE HALL. 15

 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEHAVIOURISM &
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Behaviourism Social Learning Theory

 Stimulus – from environment  Input – in the environment
 Mental Process – cannot be studied,  Mental process – mediation –
mind is a ‘black box’. cognitive/ thinking event
 Response - behaviour  Output - behaviour

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SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

 Bandura argued that:

 People – especially children learn by observing the behaviour of others (models), e.g.
parents, siblings, friends, characters on T.V, teachers at school, etc.
 Models provide examples of behaviour to observe and imitate, e.g. masculine and
feminine, pro and anti-social etc.
 Children pay attention to some of these models and remember their behaviour.  At a
later time they may imitate (i.e. copy) the behaviour they have observed..

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 Observation & Consequences Other Influencing Factors
 Identification with the model is an
influencing factor.
 Motivation to identify with a particular
model is that they have a quality which
the individual would like to possess.
 Self –efficacy, the belief that a future
action is within one’s capabilities.
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 TAKE A BREAK – THEORY TO PRACTICE NEXT !

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SECTION 2
THEORY TO PRACTICE

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HEALTH BELIEF MODEL

 Early theories about why human beings change our health behaviour were based on
the following theory:

Informati Attitude Behaviour

on change change

MORRISON, V. AND BENNETT, P. ‘AN INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY’, ESSEX: PEARSON EDUCATION
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HEALTH BELIEF MODEL

 This was proved to be a naïve perspective as simply providing information about the
benefits of stopping smoking or eating a healthy diet may, or may not, change
attitudes and behaviour.
 A variety of other models have been proposed as explanations for health behaviour
and behaviour change.
 One of the first and best well known is the Health Belief Model.

ADAPTED FROM: MORRISON, V. AND BENNETT, P. ‘AN INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY’, ESSEX: PEARSON
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EDUCATION
HEALTH BELIEF MODEL

 The Health Belief Model (HBM) is based on concepts from both Behaviourism and
Social Learning Theory – now often referred to as Social Cognitive Theory (SCT).
 The HBM attempts to explain and predict health behaviours by focusing on the
attitudes and beliefs of individuals.
 The HBM is best illustrated through examples – please answer the questionnaire.

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%20COMMUNICATION/HEALTH_BELIEF_MODEL/
HEALTH BELIEF MODEL – MAJOR CONCEPTS

 HBM is based on six key concepts:

 Perceived Susceptibility – likelihood of getting a condition
 Perceived Severity – severity and consequences of a condition
 Perceived Benefits – expected positive effects of taking action
 Perceived Barriers – practical and psychological costs of action
 Cues to action – events/knowledge that triggers action
 Self Efficacy – confidence in own ability to take action

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HEALTH BELIEF MODEL

 From an evaluation of the basis of HBM, its key concepts and, your
questionnaire, can you think of any potential limitations of this model?

ADAPTED FROM: MORRISON, V. AND BENNETT, P. ‘AN INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY’, ESSEX: PEARSON 25
EDUCATION
CRITICAL EVALUATION

 Do people value and pursue health in the same way as the model suggests?
 Do the key concepts all carry equal weight in predicting health related behaviour
change, or, is this likely to vary?
 Do the key concepts all occur at the same time, i.e. as a ‘one off’ assessment? Is this
realistic?
 Does the HBM take into account social influences on health?
 Do people always make rational decisions?

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CRITICAL EVALUATION

 Janz and Becker (1984) carried out a study using the HBM and found the best predictors of health behaviour to be
perceived barriers and perceived susceptibility to illness.
 Is health behaviour that rational? (Is tooth-brushing really determined by weighing up the pros and cons?).

· Its emphasis on the individual (HBM ignores social and economic factors)
· The absence of a role for emotional factors such as fear and denial.

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CRITICAL EVALUATION

 Leventhal et al. (1985) have argued that health-related behaviour is related more to
the way in which people interpret their symptoms (e.g. if you feel unwell and you feel
it is not going to cure itself then you would probably do something about it).
 Schwarzer (1992) has further criticized the HBM for saying nothing about how
attitudes might change.

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