The Psychology of Eating: From Healthy to Disordered Behavior

44 Food Choice

behavior. Some research has highlighted a weak link between a person’s
beliefs about their ability to control their health and dietary behavior
(e.g., Bennet et al., 1995). Similarly, one large-scale study of dietary practice
across Europe reported an association between beliefs about the importance
of specific dietary practices and the implementation of these practices (Wardle
et al., 1997). Most research using a cognitive approach has, however, drawn
on social cognition models. Several models have been developed, including
the health belief model (HBM; Becker and Rosenstock, 1984), the protec-
tion motivation theory (PMT; Rogers, 1985), the theory of reasoned action
(TRA; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), the theory of planned behavior (TPB;
Ajzen, 1985), and the health action process approach (HAPA; Schwarzer,
1992). These models vary in terms of whether they use behavioral inten-
tions or actual behavior as their outcome variable and the combination of
cognitions that they include. In general, however, the models incorporate
the attitude to a given behavior, risk perception, perceptions of severity of
the problem, the costs and benefits of a given behavior, self-efficacy, past
behavior, and social norms; they are described in detail in texts such as
Ogden (2007) and Conner and Norman (2006). These models have been
applied to eating behavior both as a means to predict food choice and as
central to interventions to change food choice. This chapter will focus on
research using the TRA and TPB, as these have most commonly been applied
to aspects of food choice (see figures 3.3 and 3.4).
Some research using a social cognitive approach to food choice has focused
on predicting the intentions to consume specific foods. For example, research

• Beliefs about
  outcomes


• Evaluations of
  these outcomes

Attitude towards

the behavior

Importance of

norms

• Beliefs about important
  others’ attitude to the
  behavior


• Motivation to comply
  with important others

Subjective norm

Behavioral

intention Behavior

Figure 3.3 The basics of the theory of reasoned action.