Theories Of Planned Behavior

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In health psychology, “behavior is central to health and illness and can be predicted by people’s beliefs using individual beliefs or models. (Ogden, Jane 28) There are many models of belief and behaviors that explain and analyze the strength of personal beliefs, attitude towards life and habits can have on a person. I will be examining our health beliefs through the theory of planned behavior or the theory of reasoned action. The theory of planned behavior “suggests that a person's behavior is determined by his/her intention to perform the behavior and that this intention is, in turn, a function of his/her attitude toward the behavior and his/her subjective norm. The best predictor of behavior is the intention.” (Twente) It examines the attitude…show more content…
It is not that we eat too much or it is a constant behavior but stressed individual tend to crave foods in high fat, sugar, and salt. It is one of those “pick me ups” by having a piece of chocolate or indulging a piece of cake occasionally. Caffeine intake is just one of the things makes us believe that drinking coffee will help us get things done but can have negative affect on our health like increased heartbeat, insomnia, anxiety, nausea, and headaches. When analyzing our behavior through the theory of planned behavior we can see that our attitude towards our behavior is positive even though it will have a negative effect on our health. Even if we begin with a negative view of a behavior, it will become positive due to stress and in this case of the instant outcome. For example, my husband is very busy and under a lot of stress at all times; before going to bed, he will indulge in some chocolate to help him relax and be able to go to bed. He knows it is not good for him but he needs to sleep a little bit so he can have somewhat of a fresh start the next day. This way we start to believe that eating sugary things will make us happy and not so stressed or depressed for that moment in time. Same thing with coffee, it will keep us going and help us in getting our tasks done with more…show more content…
It may not seem at first that a sugary snack and a large amount of caffeine intake will affect our health but in the long run, it can cause a lot of damage. “Eating ice cream, cake or chocolate on occasion helps us reduce stress with but if eating the wrong things becomes the main coping mechanism for stress, it can lead to compromised health, excessive weight, and additional stress stemming from these effects.” (Scott, Elizabeth) We know the illnesses caused by these behaviors but the instant outcomes of being relieved from stress to have a greater effect on our lives. So, my husband and I will consider cutting back on these behaviors but not quit altogether because it helps us cope with stress. Stress is a silent killer in itself. Stress has been playing a big role in most of our lives and so “most thoroughly investigated topic has been the effects of psychological stress on immune functioning.” (Kaplan, Robert) I believe that stress is worse than continuing with these behaviors in moderation. A big factor that helps us prove the planned behavior theory is that stress may be having the worst effect on our life at that time and it increases our chances of performing the behavior than considering future

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