Question

Harold is aware that cigarette smoking makes him susceptible to developing lung cancer. Further, he is aware that lung cancer is a serious and life threatening illness. He also believes that quitting smoking would reduce his risk of lung cancer. According to what theory of behavior change is Harold is likely to make a behavior change:

Answer 1

Harold's situation aligns with the Health Belief Model, indicating that he is likely to change his smoking behavior due to his awareness of the serious health risks and potential benefits of quitting.

Step-by-step explanation:

Harold is demonstrating an awareness of the consequences of his behavior, which is a step identified in the Health Belief Model (HBM) of behavior change. This model predicts that people are likely to change their health-related behaviors if they perceive the health problem as serious (perceived severity), believe they are susceptible to the health problem (perceived susceptibility), believe the behavior change will be beneficial in reducing susceptibility or severity (perceived benefits), and do not perceive barriers to making the behavior change (perceived barriers). With his acknowledgment of the risks of smoking and the benefits of quitting, Harold shows congruence with the HBM and therefore is likely to make a behavior change to quit smoking.

Answer 2

Health Action Process Approach

Step-by-step explanation:

The health action process approach a sequence of two continuous self-regulatory processes. It has a goal-setting phase (motivation) and a goal-pursuit phase (volition); the second phase is subdivided into a pre-action phase and an action phase. Motivational self-efficacy, outcome-expectancies and risk perceptions (in this case Harold's situation) are assumed to be predictors of intentions. The predictive effect of motivational self-efficacy on behaviour is recovery self-efficacy, and the effects of intentions are assumed to be mediated by planning. The latter processes refer to the volitional phase of the model.