No abstract

Protection motivation theory (PMT) was introduced by Rogers in 1975 and has since been widely adopted as a framework for the prediction of and intervention in health‐related behavior. However. PMT remains the only major cognitive model of behavior not to have been the subject of a meta‐analytic review. A quantitative review of PMT is important to assess its overall utility as a predictive model and to establish which of its variables would be most useful to address health‐education interventions. The present paper provides a comprehensive introduction to PMT and its application to health‐related behavior, together with a quantitative review of the applications of PMT to health‐related intentions and behavior. The associations between threat‐ and coping‐appraisal variables and intentions, and all components of the model and behavior were assessed both by meta‐analysis and by vote‐count procedures. Threat‐ and coping‐appraisal components of PMT were found to be useful in the prediction of health‐related intentions. The model was found to be useful in predicting concurrent behavior, but of less utility in predicting future behavior. The coping‐appraisal component of the model was found to have greater predictive validity than was the threat‐appraisal component. The main findings are discussed in relation to theory and research on social cognition models. The importance of the main findings to health education is also discussed, and future research directions are suggested.

We argue that habit is a psychological construct, rather than simply past behavioral frequency. In 4 studies, a 12‐item index of habit strength (the Self‐Report Habit Index, SRHI) was developed on the basis of features of habit; that is, a history of repetition, automaticity (lack of control and awareness, efficiency), and expressing identity. High internal and test‐retest reliabilities were found. The SRHI correlated strongly with past behavioral frequency and the response frequency measure of habit (Verplanken, Aarts, van Knippenberg, & van Knippenberg, 1994). The index discriminated between behaviors varying in frequency, and also between daily vs. weekly habits. The SRHI may be useful as a dependent variable, or to determine or monitor habit strength without measuring behavioral frequency.

Despite increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS, there has been no systematic review of correlates of condom use among heterosexual samples. To rectify this, the present study used meta-analysis to quantify the relationship between psychosocial variables and self-reported condom use. Six hundred sixty correlations distributed across 44 variables were derived from 121 empirical studies. Variables were organized in terms of the labeling, commitment, and enactment stages of the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (Catania, Kegeles, & Coates, 1990). Findings showed that demographic, personality, and labeling stage variables had small average correlations with condom use. Commitment and enactment stage variables fared better, with attitudes toward condoms, behavioral intentions, and communication about condoms being the most important predictors. Overall, findings support a social psychological model of condom use highlighting the importance of behavior-specific cognitions, social interaction, and preparatory behaviors rather than knowledge and beliefs about the threat of infection.

This study concerns the implications of Peter Gollwitzer's concept of implementation intentions for Icek Ajzen's theory of planned behavior. Attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intentions were assessed before an intervention that required subjects to make implementation intentions concerning when and where they would perform breast self-examination during the next month. Behavior was assessed by self-report 1 month later. Results supported Gollwitzer's contention that goal intentions that have been supplemented by implementation intentions concerning where and when the behavior is to be performed are more likely to be enacted. Evidence suggested that implementation intentions were effective because they provided a mechanism that facilitated the retrieval of intentions in memory. Implementation intentions also reduced the capacity of past behavior to predict future behavior, suggesting that implementation intentions mimic the effect of habit in human action. Implications for applications of models of attitude-behavior relations are outlined.