Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 1 Opening  Issue: if health behavior is related to some stable attribute of the person, what is that? How is it changed?  “Personality”: stable (unlearned?) trait  “Attitude”: Learned evaluative response  Attitudes:  Core evaluation of an object  [Context dependent] Behavioral disposition  Attitude theory core issue:  Attitude  behavior consistency Beliefs v. affect? Conflicting beliefs? Habit? Self-efficacy?

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 2 Core constituents: Attitude Models  Knowledge  Information re: health practices  Awareness of health related stimuli ► “Cues to action”  Attitudes and Beliefs  Preferences or evaluations: e.g., consumer preferences.  Beliefs, ► Perceived vulnerability, ► Outcome expectancies  Affect, e.g., depression / anxiety & information seeking ► “Affect as information” models  Behavior  Behavioral history; ► habit formation  Behavioral intentions; context & behavior -specific cognitive “set”

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 3 Some basic attitude elements  Context dependence  Potentially multiple attitudes  Context dependency  attitude – behavior inconsistency  Accessibility & strength  priming effects  speed of recall  Ambivalence  cognition v. affect  Approach  avoidance  Anchoring effects  Value congruence  “Instrumental” attitudes; functional in predicting outcomes of behavior, modifiable via information or direct experience...  “Value expressive”; expression of basic ideology or principles...less responsive to experience or information.

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 4 Basic attitude elements, 2  Primacy of affect & evaluation  Affect >> cognition when they are in conflict  Congruent affect & cognition  strong / change resistant attitude  Affective / evaluative Rx precedes cognitive processing  Affective priming independent of cognitive processes sleeper effect?  Expectancy x value: core underpinning of attitude models  Attitude = [belief 1 x value 1 ] + [belief 2 x value 2 ] + …  Key variables: # & nature of key beliefs, direction & strength of valuation (affective response).

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 5 Basic attitude elements, 3  Cognitive accessibility of beliefs  Cs goals and motivations  accessibility  Arousal & accessibility (Oxytocin & sexual stimuli)  Positive goal features  accessible for long-term decisions  Negative goal features  accessible for short term decisions Key approach  avoidance conflict: Long-term self-regulation (approach health goal) more effortful & cognitive demanding Short-term affective coping (avoidance) less effortful. Key approach  avoidance conflict: Long-term self-regulation (approach health goal) more effortful & cognitive demanding Short-term affective coping (avoidance) less effortful.  Attentional “narrowing” and lessening accessibility Alcohol / drug effects Cognitive avoidance

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 6 Attitude change/formation/Persuasion  Consistency theories  dissonance theory  value -- attitude congruence  consistency & attraction  averaging models (v. “tipping point” perspective)  Exposure / conditioning  Simple repetition, pairing of attitude with existing positive response.  Heritability  Happiness set point?  Affectivity?  Other set points; substance use, temperament, food.  Tolerance for ambiguity?  Heuristic - systematic models of persuasion  Motivated; argument strength predicts (strong & enduring) attitude change  Non-motivated: peripheral / heuristic elements predict less strong / enduring change

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 7 Attitude change  Receiver characteristics  “Involvement” --> greater motivation...  Personal relevance  Defending pre-existing attitude  Express values  Intermediate levels of self-esteem --> change  Mood  Source characteristics  Message clarity x source credibility (interaction with ‘motivation’)  In group v. out group

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 8 Attitude change, 2  Message characteristics  Fear arousal: Rogers’ protection motivation theory  Basic message x receiver effects: Seriousness of message; personal susceptibility; outcome expectancies; efficacy expectancies  Framing; Context effects Gain v. loss & reflection effect

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 9 Basic models  Triandis [belief x affect] + belief 2 x affect 2 ].... = behavioral disposition  Fishbein [belief x value] + [belief 2 x value 2 ].... [norm x value] + [norm 2 x value 2 ]....  Ajzen; theory of Planned Behavior Behavioral intention Behavioral disposition Habit Self efficacy

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 10 Psychosocial challenges for health behavior: Informational / Cognitive  Complexity and non-stability of health related information  “Press conference” science  Food industry influence on HHS information  “Food pyramid” complexity  Credibility of multiple information sources  The WEB and informational tunneling  Powerful cognitive message effects  Framing: (in)congruence with approach / avoidant attitudes  Gain / loss: gain framing >> loss framing.  Cognitive salience of competing messages  Powerful anchoring effects of even trivial information  Social norms  “Fat” norms  Culturally – specific norms; e.g., Gay community & drug use.

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 11 Psychosocial challenges for health behavior: Affective  “Hot” information and cognitive or behavioral avoidance  Cf: Miller C-SHIP model  HIV testing data, cancer screening, etc.  Cognitive avoidance in chronic disease  Self-efficacy: Fear of difficulty of behavioral change  “Demotivating” effects of negative mood  “Strategic” use of negative health behavior to enhance mood enhancing  “Denial” of health threat via group membership  Outgroup stereotypes and perceived non-vulnerability  Peer & cultural conformity pressure toward (or ‘not against’) health threats

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 12 Psychosocial challenges for health behavior: Behavioral  Difficulty of delaying gratification, decreasing “stimulus boundedness”  “Automaticity”, cognitive capacity, and real limitations on cognitive control over behavior  Self-monitoring and self-regulation needed to process and follow health information  “Self-regulation capacity” models  7 +2 informational capacity  Real difficulty of health alternatives  “Food deserts”  Violent neighborhoods / build environment & exercise availability  American industrial food system  Outcome & efficacy expectancies

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 13 Self-Regulation  Core elements: 1. Goal setting 2. Self-evaluative reactions 3. Self-efficacy for goal-related behavioral performance

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 14 Self-regulation elements: 1. Goal setting  Stable “action schema” or “script”  Abelson: “automatic” behavioral scripts  Higgins: discrepancies between “actual”, “ideal” & “ought” selves Modest ideal  actual: intrinsic motivation for goals Modest ought  actual: extrinsic motivation for goals Strong ideal  actual: guilt, anxiety Strong ought  actual: depression, helplessness  Goals as preferences: Ajzen attitude models  Goals and Action Identification  Higher-order identification: generalized values  Lower-order ID: concrete behaviors  Houston: shifts in ID to serve self-regulation

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 15 Goals, 2: Action Identifications Lose weight & look better Dietary change Meal planning Green vegetable each meal Breakfast on work days Simple carbohydrate avoidance No sconesExercise Cardio- vascular Run 5 days / week Strength training No elevators High Low Abstract & longer-term, end states Difficult to monitor: slow-moving & non-specific Typically “approach” oriented / positive affect. Concrete & immediate, behavioral intentions Specific, easier to monitor Mix of approach & avoidant (+ & - affect).

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 16 Self-regulation: Basic cybernetic frame Behavioral intentions Behavioral standards Self-monitoring of ongoing behavior Actual behavior Available feedback Behavioral “Comparator”

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 17 Potential self-regulation failures Behavioral intentions Behavioral standards Self-monitoring of ongoing behavior Actual behavior Available feedback Behavioral “Comparator” Loose linkage between attitude / intention  behavior Role of habit / “automaticity,” contextual constraints Social network press for behavioral consistency Ambivalence: affective attraction of bad behavior v. pallid, high- level action identification of being good Mixed, complex attitudes

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 18 Potential self-regulation failure, 2 Behavioral intentions Behavioral standards Self-monitoring of ongoing behavior Actual behavior Available feedback Behavioral “Comparator” Clarity & specificity of behavioral standards Concreteness & specificity of behavioral plans Extrinsic v. intrinsic motivation & standards

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 19 Potential self-regulation failure, 3 Behavioral intentions Behavioral standards Self-monitoring of ongoing behavior Actual behavior Available feedback Behavioral “Comparator” Quality & amount of feedback Frequency & visibility of target behaviors Availability of feedback from others Simple attention, memory capacity

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 20 Effortful self-awareness of behavior Automaticity of target behavior – Monitoring is…  Productive for initiating behaviors  Disruptive for automatic behaviors Effortful monitoring  “Coping fatigue”, generally aversive Tediousness of formal monitoring Potential self-regulation failure, 4 Behavioral intentions Behavioral standards Self-monitoring of ongoing behavior Actual behavior Available feedback Behavioral “Comparator”

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 21 Potential self-regulation failure, 5 Behavioral intentions Behavioral standards Self-monitoring of ongoing behavior Actual behavior Available feedback Behavioral “Comparator” Quality & nature of comparison Self-focused attention as prerequisite for comparator Clarity & specificity of behavioral standards Cognitive avoidance of “hot” information (i.e., failure)

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 22 Potential self-regulation failure, 6 Behavioral intentions Behavioral standards Self-monitoring of ongoing behavior Actual behavior Available feedback Behavioral “Comparator” Negative “actual” v. “ought” or “ideal” comparisons “Actual” versus: “ought”  anxiety, shame  avoidance “ideal”  depression  amotivation Self-efficacy: behavioral change versus avoidance Self-regulatory resource models

Psychology 415; Social Basis of Health Behavior Attitudes & self-regulation 23 Potential self-regulation failure, 7 Behavioral intentions Behavioral standards Self-monitoring of ongoing behavior Actual behavior Available feedback Behavioral “Comparator” Lowering standards in the face of failure Motivated downward comparison processes “What the hell” phenomenon Cognitive escape / “defensive” self-evaluation