Samantha Slife
9/18/2023
Dr. Erin Holt
Social and Behavior Aspects
Transtheoretical Model vs. Health Belief Model
Both the transtheoretical model and the health belief model are effective in helping
people change behaviors and predicting behaviors. While the transtheoretical and health belief
models are both effective in many situations, there are some situations where one is better suited
over the other.
The transtheoretical model focuses on readiness and action. People move through the
stages of change by actions or event triggers, for example, one might move from contemplation
to preparation by researching walking paths near them. Another piece of the model is the
decisional balance, also known as the weighing of pros and cons. Processes of change represent
the thoughts, emotions, and actions of a person trying to change. The last piece of the
transtheoretical model is self-efficacy, or people’s belief in their ability to complete a behavior
(Holt). Some of the biggest influences in the transtheoretical model are self-efficacy and
decisional balance. These are both strongly affected by barriers present in cons and efficacy.
The health belief model focuses on beliefs and attitudes (Montanaro and Bryan). The
model consists of people's perceptions about different motivations to change. Perceived threat, is
composed of perceived susceptibility and perceived severity. Perceived benefits are positive
effects of changing behavior. Perceived barriers are reasons why a person thinks that they can’t
complete a behavior. The last big piece of the model is perceived self-efficacy which is their
belief in their ability to complete behaviors. There are also cues involved in the model or things
that remind or cause a person to complete a behavior (Holt). People move through the health
belief model by changing the way they think about a behavior, for example, someone who has a
family member with a disease is going to have a higher perceived susceptibility to that disease.
The biggest influences in the health belief model are perceived self-efficacy and perceived
barriers (Guilford et al.).
Barriers are a key part of both models that can strongly affect how likely someone is to
change. Barriers-efficacy plays a huge part in overall self-efficacy. Self-efficacy has been proven
to be one of the most important factors of change in both models (Scruggs et al.). If barriers are
not overcome virtually nothing else matters, and people will not change, because they think they
can't.
The transtheoretical model is most determined by how we act in trying to change
behaviors. Key parts of the transtheoretical model include self-efficacy and specific processes of
change. Self-efficacy is very important in changing behaviors because people are more likely to
complete a behavior if they think they can. One of the processes of change that has proven very
effective is behavior reinforcement (Romain et al.). The idea of rewards for performing a
behavior is very encouraging. Because of its basis in action, the transtheoretical model is most
effective in changing habits, like quitting smoking or starting to exercise (Taylor et al.). These
types of changes need actions and reinforcement to continue change.
The health belief model is most determined by how we think about behaviors. While
perceptions and attitudes about change can increase most cues cannot be predicted. Some of the
most important perceptions in the model are those of barriers and self-efficacy as well as cues
(King et al.). If you can’t overcome a person's perceived barriers, they will not be changing their
behavior. Benefits and cues need to outweigh barriers to encourage the positive effects of
change. It is most effective in prevention behaviors like getting vaccines or checkups (Taylor et
al.). These strategies are most effective with behaviors that are only necessary on an annual basis
and can be easier to do and think about than a daily activity.
Both models are good at predicting and modeling change. The transtheoretical model
does a better job with changing habits and activities. The health belief model is most effective
when use for preventative behaviors. So while both models can be helpful in most situations,
there are certain times when one model could be more beneficial that the other.
Works Cited
Guilford, Kendra, et al. “Breast Cancer Knowledge, Beliefs, and Screening Behaviors of College
Women: Application of the Health Belief Model.” American Journal of Health
Education, vol. 48, no. 4, May 2017, pp. 256–63,
https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2017.1316694.
Holt, Erin. "Health Belief Model." Social and Behavioral Aspects, 13th September, 2023, Baker
University, Mabee 400. Lecture
Holt, Erin. "Transtheoretical Model." Social and Behavioral Aspects, 30th August, 2023, Baker
University, Mabee 400. Lecture
King, K. A., et al. “Vigorous Physical Activity among College Students: Using the Health Belief
Model to Assess Involvement and Social Support.” Archives of Exercise in Health and
Disease, vol. 4, no. 2, 2014, pp. 267–79, https://doi.org/10.5628/aehd.v4i2.153.
Montanaro, Erika A., and Angela D. Bryan. “Comparing Theory-Based Condom Interventions:
Health Belief Model versus Theory of Planned Behavior.” Health Psychology, vol. 33,
no. 10, Oct. 2014, pp. 1251–60, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033969.
Romain, Ahmed Jérôme, et al. “Prediction of Physical Activity Level Using Processes of Change
from the Transtheoretical Model: Experiential, Behavioral, or an Interaction Effect?”
American Journal of Health Promotion, vol. 32, no. 1, Feb. 2017, pp. 16–23,
https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117116686900.
Scruggs, Stacie, et al. “Randomized Trial of a Lifestyle Physical Activity Intervention for Breast
Cancer Survivors: Effects on Transtheoretical Model Variables.” Health Promotion
Practice, vol. 19, no. 1, June 2017, pp. 134–44,
https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839917709781.
Taylor, David, et al. "A Review of the use of the Health Belief Model (HBM), the Theory of
Reasoned Action (TRA), the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the TransTheoretical Model (TTM) to study and predict health related behaviour change." London,
UK: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2006): 1-215.