SOCIAL COGNITION MODELS
Social cognition models describe the important cognitions that distinguish between
those who do and do not perform health behaviours. This approach focuses on the
cognitions or thought processes that intervene between observable stimuli and
behaviour in real world situations (Fiske and Taylor, 1991). This ‘social cognition’
approach has been central to social psychology over the past quarter of a century.
Unlike behaviourism, it is founded on the assumption that behaviour is best understood
as a function of people’s perceptions of reality, rather than objective characterizations
of environmental stimuli.
Research into social cognition models can be seen as one part of what has been called
‘self-regulation’ research. Self-regulation processes are defined as those ‘mental and
behavioral processes by which people enact their self-conceptions, revise their behavior,
or alter the environment so as to bring about outcomes in it in line with their self-
perceptions and personal goals’ (Fiske and Taylor, 1991: 181). Self-regulation research
has emerged from a clinical tradition in psychology, which views the individual as
striving to eliminate dysfunctional patterns of thinking or behaviour and engage in
adaptive patterns of thinking or behaviour (Bandura, 1982; Turk and Salovey, 1986).
Self-regulation involves cognitive re-evaluation of beliefs, goal setting and ongoing
monitoring and evaluating of goal-directed behaviour. Two phases of self-regulation
activities have been defined: motivational and volitional (Gollwitzer, 1990). In the
motivational phase costs and benefits are considered in order to choose between goals
and behaviours. This phase is assumed to conclude with a decision or intention concern -
ing which goals and actions to pursue at a particular time. In the subsequent volitional
phase, planning and action directed towards achieving the set goal predominate.
Much of the research with health behaviours has focused on the important
cognitions in the motivational phase, although recent research has begun to focus on
the volitional phase. The key social cognition models in this area are:
1 The health belief model(HBM; e.g. Janz and Becker, 1984; Abraham and Sheeran,
2005, 2015).
2 Protection motivation theory(PMT; e.g. Maddux and Rogers, 1983; Norman, Boer
and Seydel, 2005; Norman et al., 2015).
3 The theory of reasoned action/theory of planned behaviour(TRA/TPB; e.g. Ajzen, 1991;
Conner and Sparks, 2005; Norman et al., 2015).
4 Social cognitive theory(SCT; e.g. Bandura, 2000; Luszczynska and Schwarzer,
2005, 2015).
A distinct set of models focus on the idea that behaviour change occurs through a
series of qualitatively different stages. These so-called ‘stage’ models (Sutton, 2005,
2015) importantly include the transtheoretical model of change (Prochaska and
DiClemente, 1984; Prochaska, DiClemente and Norcross, 1992). In the following
sections we consider these different models and what they say about how cognitions
help direct health behaviours. These social cognition models (SCMs) provide a basis
for understanding the determinants of behaviour and also provide important targets,
which interventions designed to change behaviour should focus on if they are to change
motivation (see Chapter 8) and, thereby, behaviour (see Chapter 9).
HEALTH COGNITIONS AND BEHAVIOURS 143