Theorizing Social Context: Rethinking Behavioral Theory

Abstract

Major behavioral theories focus on proximal influences on behavior that are considered to be predominantly cognitive characteristics of the individual largely uninfluenced by social context. Social ecological models integrate multiple levels of influence on health behavior and are noted for emphasizing the interdependence of environmental settings and life domains. This theory-based article explains how social context is conceptualized in the social sciences and how the social science conceptualization differs from and can broaden the analytic approach to health behavior. The authors use qualitative data from the “Behavioral Constructs and Culture in Cancer Screening” study to illustrate our conceptualization of social context. We conclude that the incorporation into health behavior theory of a multidimensional socio-culturally oriented, theoretical approach to social context is critical to understand and redress health disparities in multicultural societies like that in the United States.

Exploring lay views on physical activity and their implications for public health policy. A case study from East Belfast

“…Indeed, Glanz, Rimer, and Viswanath (2008) suggested that the most frequently cited theories and models of health behaviour appearing in health promotion studies between [2000][2001][2002][2003][2004][2005] were the health belief model, together with social cognitive theory and stages of change model. Many of these models have been criticised for underestimating the influence of social, political and cultural influences on physical activity (PA) (see, Burke, Joseph, Pasick and Barker, 2009), and we would argue that whatever their strengths, they mostly fail to either connect with or reflect lay ideas *Revised manuscript with tracked changes Click here to view linked References about the role and nature of such activity in everyday life. Yet lay views of the world can offer excellent starting points for the design of population based health initiatives and a key objective of this paper is to show how the talk of ordinary people about the nature of PA can contribute to an enhanced comprehension, theorization and practical resolution of relevant public health issues.…”

“…Indeed, as Burke, Joseph, Pasick et al, (2009) argue, social cognition models often regard the things that are highlighted by our respondents as merely 'contextual' and important only in so far as they have an effect on the attitudes and motives of individuals. Social ecology models, on the other hand, lay an emphasis on the interrelations between human beings and their environments and argue that health interventions have always to be multi-level -that is, intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional and community directed (Golden & Earp, 2012).…”

A Critical Review of Theory in Breast Cancer Screening Promotion across Cultures

“…Second and related to the concept of social context is the resounding call for multilevel intervention addressing the individual, neighborhood, organizational, family, community, and social spheres: the socioecological approach (97). Recognizing the influence of social phenomena in addition to those that are biological and psychological, the third element is an increasing appreciation for social science theory and qualitative research as evidence: the data necessary to understand influences on behavior, factors to be addressed in interventions, and the processes by which interventions affect change (21,75). This underscores the admonition to public health to "engage in a sustained dialog with social science [to] borrow not only its methods and instruments but some of its theoretical understanding of the world" (70) and to use multilevel interventions that integrate social and individual approaches.…”

Ecological Models Revisited: Their Uses and Evolution in Health Promotion Over Two Decades

“…Such an extension of behavior analysis to a population level is thought to allow for a better specification of change processes, thus making possible the engineering of social and cultural contingencies that will likely impact health behaviors. Finally, in a recent contribution, Burke et al (8) lament the static and narrow vision of the social context in health behavior models, including socioecological models, and propose a theoretical approach to social context that draws on concepts from sociology and anthropology to understand the multiple dimensions of social and cultural phenomena as they relate to health behaviors. Although they do not explicitly cast their contribution within the ecological approach, their theoretical approach not only details the complex sociocultural and historical forces that define social context, but also includes a sophisticated discussion of the relationship of the individual to social structure, which takes into account a "theoretical understanding of the mutually constitutive relationship of individuals and social structures, the unconscious dispositions of individuals that reflect their social context, and the fluidity of both" (8, p. 65S).…”