mapping process. Second, that interventions (in this case leaflets) designed on the basis
of assumptions about what kind of intervention is required without adequate elicitation
research may not identify change targets likely to optimize behaviour change. Many
designers of condom-promotion leaflets appear to have assumed that the key deficit
in the target population was information. Their ‘logic models’ explaining the theories
of change implicit in these interventions were that being informed of one’s
susceptibility to a threat (STIs) would motivate condom use and that the skills
necessary to use condoms were already in existence. Previous research had suggested
that this was not the case. So many of these leaflets were not evidence-based and were
not developed in a manner that optimized their behaviour change impact.
Public health campaigns frequently use messages that highlight health risk or threat
and recommend protective action. Unfortunately, perceived threat does not always
prompt behaviour change so fear appeals may be ineffective (e.g. Albarracín et al.,
2005). Protection motivation theory (PMT) (see Chapter 7) implies that fear appeals
should incorporate threat and efficacy messages emphasizing perceived susceptibility
CHANGING BEHAVIOUR 203Correlation with condom useAverage number of messages in UK health leaflets00.511.522.5300.050.10.150.20.250.30.350.40.450.5Messages in leafletsCorrelation with condom useFIGURE 9.4Strength of the association between cognitions and condom use and
frequency of targeted messages in UK safer sex leaflets.
Source: From Abraham et al., 2002. © British Psychological Society. Reproduced with permission from
Wiley.