Theories And Models Of Health Behavior example essay topic

The mass media (including everything from television and music to popular novels and fan cultures), creates an endless and accessible flow of information. "What we know about the world beyond out immediate surroundings comes to us via the media (Yates 1999)". The technology of electronic media and the art of advertising have combined to create very powerful tools of influence. These tools are capable of shaping the attitudes, values and behaviors of large numbers of people (Walsh.) By identifying and examining the various forms of health information contained in the media, problems arise because the media does not present it's messages in a neutral and straightforward way.

Because the media distorts reality, the public must become more conscious and critical of various medias in order to protect their mental and physical heath. Emotion focuses attention, determines what is remembered, shapes attitudes, motivates, and moves one to act. Considering this, its no surprise that the emotional centers of the brain are the primary target for marketers and advertisers. "The art of advertising is difficult to master and it takes a great deal of skill and creativity to achieve proficiency (Walsh 1999.) However, the underlying psychological principles are quite simple. Once the desired emotional state is achieved in the viewer, the product or message becomes mentally linked to the state. For example, viewers seeing a television ad for the first time may not know what the product is until the very last seconds of the ad.

The first 28 seconds of the 30-second ad are used to create the mood. Once the mood is set, then the product is introduced and the emotional association is made. The most effective ads are not informational, but emotional. In some cases, the feelings evoked by the ad may have no logical connection to the product whatsoever.

As long as the desired emotion is linked with the product, the mission has been accomplished (Walsh.) The media creates emotion using messaging techniques. Certain filming techniques are used to gear viewers towards the desired emotions, including the use of camera angles, selective editing, framing, reaction shots, sound effects, quick cuts, lighting tricks, computer graphics and music. These techniques focus attention, and create mental shortcuts on an unconscious level. Message qualities are further expressed using a combination of symbols, exaggeration, fear, humor, testimonials, repetition, flattery, sex appeal, visual imagery, bandwagon, plain folks, nostalgia, warm and fuzzy, beautiful people, and bribery.

Theories and models of health behavior can be used to explain behavior and clarify the effects of external influences on individuals. Health promotion educators use many different models for understanding behavior change and designing successful interventions. Some common models are used to describe and predict behavior. Skinner and Pavlov introduced a behavioral and operant conditioning theory that stated humans are biological machines and behavior is a product of conditioning, Freud argued humans are driven by subconscious instinct in his Psychoanalytic theory, and Rogers started a wellness movement in his humanist and client-centered view. Behavior theories exist on many levels including individual, familial, and societal.

On an individual level, the Health Belief Model states that changes in behavior depend on an individuals belief that a health problem is serious (perceived severity), that one may be susceptible to the problem (threat), that changing one's behavior will reduce the threat (benefit), ones perception of the obstacles necessary to change the behavior (barriers), and the belief that one has the ability to change one's behavior (self- efficacy.) On a familial and / or societal level, the Theory of Reasoned Action, Transtheoretical theory, and Social Cognitive theory are used. The Theory of Reasoned Action focuses on ones intentions and motivations to change. The Transtheoretical theory can be used to predict and understand healthy and unhealthy behavior by providing a framework for explaining how behavior change occurs. The stages include pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation or decision, action and maintenance. The model views behavior change as a process in which individuals are at various stages of readiness to change.

The Stages of Change Model is not linear, and individuals can enter and exit at any point and may repeat a stage several times. This acknowledges that not everyone is ready to change behavior. The Social Cognitive Theory proposes that behavior change is influenced by the environment, personal factors, and aspects of the behavior itself. The theory explains ways individuals gain and maintain attention, specifically addressing the processes of attention, retention, reproduction and motivation.

Individuals experience an education process consisting of reinforcement, self-efficacy, behavioral capacity (learning what to do and how), expectations, and outcome expectancy. Social Cognitive theory helps a health educator understand the complex relationships between the individual and his or her environment, how actions and conditions reinforce or discourage change, and the importance of believing in and knowing how to change (Health Behavior Models, 1998.) Many would agree that the media are the biggest educators in today's society. 'By age 18 a young person will have seen 350,000 commercials and spent more time being entertained by the media than any other activity except sleeping (Walsh.) ' A society with such immense media-saturation is cause for concern, especially in regards to health. The impact of the media on adolescents in terms of nutrition, sexual information, alcohol and tobacco, violence, and stress has been greatly evaluated. By examining these areas, we can begin to address and examine how media literacy can be used to reduce the negative influences mass media are believed to have on young people's health-related attitudes and behaviors (Yates.) Proper nutrition is especially important for adolescents. Early dietary decisions can have lifelong health implications such as obesity, poor nutrition, inadequate female reproductive development (Childhood Obesity, Kaiser Family Foundation.) The media often perpetuates poor diet decisions.

"One study estimated that early adolescents between two and 12 contributed $82.4 billion in food and beverage purchases in 1990 (Walsh.) " Even more alarming is the issue of body image. Young adolescents are led to believe that the media-created image of the ideal body is how their bodies should look. In an attempt to have the perfect body, females often end up adopting fad diets that may lead to more serious eating disorders. Boys are susceptible to media body images because they want to build muscles like many actors and sports heroes. This desire to 'bulk up' can lead to poor diet and possibly the use of steroids.

Awareness in students could be increased by having them examine existing advertisements and determine how males and females are typically portrayed (American Parents, 2004.) An effort must be made not to depict either gender in a stereotypical way. By analyzing media, we learn about the inherent meaning of body image, body language, and stereotypes. Mass media also provide formal and informal messages about sexuality. Adolescents are adopting norms for their behavior based on what they see and hear in the media.

"Liebert and Sprafkin concluded that adolescents who watch a lot of sexual content on TV are less satisfied with their sexuality and develop misconceptions (American Parents, 2004.) " Although sexuality is a difficult topic to discuss with youngsters, an effort must be made to create media literate students who can evaluate the sexual information provided by the mass media... Television shows depicting the awkwardness and confusion surrounding sexuality can be used to help students understand it is normal to feel anxious about sex and that they should talk about their feelings. Discussing these issues may reduce students' anxiety about sex and help them feel more comfortable with their emotions and physical changes. Sex is often associated with alcohol in the media.

Gorgeous, sexy female models are a constant in beer and wine advertisements that target males. Television shows often portray alcohol as a means to sex. In addition, alcohol is associated with success, excitement, and good times. For younger media consumers, media depictions of alcohol are tantalizing and alluring. "A 1991 report said that 35 percent of all wine coolers in the United States are consumed by high school juniors and seniors. The report also revealed that these upperclassmen drink 1.1 billion cans of beer and half of the 20.7 million seventh through twelfth graders drink (Walsh)".

Although alcohol is heavily advertised in this country, there is one product that tops it: cigarettes. Like alcohol, cigarettes are marketed to young people, although both the alcohol and tobacco industries challenge such a claim. The high volume of alcohol and tobacco advertisements makes media literacy training a must for young people. Students should study the words and images in cigarette ads, paying attention to the activities depicted, the moods created, and the settings. Students can be asked to consider differences between ads for cigarettes preferred by female class members versus cigarettes preferred by male class members (Willis and Okunade, 1997). The impact of the mass media on early adolescents has been studied extensively, with one of the most intensive areas of research has been violence in the media.

Because adolescents watch about 20 hours of television a week there is serious concern about the impact violent portrayals have on their behavior. Media executives, parents, teachers, and communities cannot dismiss violent programming as pure entertainment because the media have the power to model attitudes and behavior. With more and more adolescents becoming victims of crime as well as committing the crimes, the aforementioned groups need to reexamine how they can help combat this growing trend. Some research suggests that viewing violent content results in subsequent aggressive behavior; other research claims that viewing violence relieves tension and reduces the likelihood of violent behavior. Another area of concern is the amount of stress indirectly caused by the mass media. Because early adolescence is a stressful period in life, younger media consumers are more susceptible to additional stress created by the media.

Television may blur the boundaries between childhood and adulthood, causing kids to try to imitate behaviors they see on television, such as sexual situations. They may then experience confusion and dejection because they are unable to reproduce the behaviors in the same manner (Willis, J. and Okunade, A., 1997.) In essence, the media messages children receive are pushing them to be adults before it is time. This pressure to act like an adult causes undue stress, which can lead to unnecessary health problems or cause adolescents to cope with stress in ways similar to those portrayed in the media. The media literacy movement must give more attention to health issues immediately because American adolescent health is in a state of crisis. Suggestions have been made about the criticality of teaching children and adolescents to become critical viewers of the mass media.

In a media-dominated society, it is imperative to evaluate critically the messages sent by the media on a daily basis. Yet for many students, the ability to think critically is underdeveloped and, until recently, most schools took no action to develop students' critical thinking skills through media education. Through media literacy students can learn to evaluate critically the health messages that are contained in various media outlets. Once students realize how the media package messages, they will be more aware of what to look for and how to interpret what they see and hear. Any health-related messages will be scrutinized and judged with a critical eye. Such scrutiny should make students more aware of their health and encourage them to avoid unhealthy behavior (Caburnay, C., 2003.) Advertisers and marketers are increasingly targeting children and youth with the technology of persuasion.

With some exceptions, the primary goals of marketing and advertising do not include child welfare. The overriding goal of most marketing and advertising is to maximize profits. Indeed the tobacco industry has employed the techniques of persuasion to influence children to adopt a habit that will kill millions of them. In the United States, there is a rise in groups have begun using traditional commercial advertising techniques to communicate messages promoting healthy behavior for young people.

For example, groups who educate teens on the dangers of tobacco, use television advertisements that are funny, frightening, and edgy. One such ad involves kids bringing bulging body bags to the beach to demonstrate the large number of people who die each year because of lung cancer. Another follows two teens documentary-style as they sneak into a convention for tobacco company executives and proclaim, loudly, that cigarettes contain a chemical that is found in urine. Rather than explaining the health risks associated with tobacco use rationally, these advertisements cause the teens who see them to associate strong emotions with a particular behavior. In this case the behavior is not using tobacco (American Parents, 2004.) This new style of public service announcement can be much more effective than the old style that employed logic and facts.

The most important aspect of these ads is how they look and feel. They are virtually indistinguishable from the other edgily communicated messages on commercial media. Because these ads don't stand out, they slip right under kids' radar, and into their brains, whether these young viewers are conscious of it or not. The public health field can take advantage of the lessons learned from commercial marketers and advertisers. By adopting the same effective advertising strategies and techniques as the mass media, a better way of promoting better health and welfare is being created.

In America, "90% of parents believe today's media teaches children to be materialistic, 85% believe it encourages them to engage in sex at early ages and 80% believe it promotes violence. All told, 64% feel that today's media content is inappropriate for their families (American Parents, 2005.) " The role the media plays in promoting both positive and negative health behaviors has become evident. Hopefully, it will finally reach a tipping point, and become impossible to ignore. Social Marketing is a planned process for influencing social change. Its goal is to benefit the target audience, instead of benefiting the marketer. Modern uses of social marketing include Health Promotion, in the areas of quitting smoking, drug abuse prevention, and health screening.

An example was the VERB campaign, which encourages both physical and pro-social activity among 9-13 year olds. These methods have also been applied to issues regarding the environment, education, and economy. There are key principles for applying marketing to social change which include conducting formative research to better understand the consume, developing programs specifically for certain target audiences, and constant monitoring and reformation. It is also important to remember to identify realistic goals, exhaust every possible media channel to ensure the target audience is reached sufficiently, plan the timing of the campaign, and include other tactics to convey information other than the media (Walsh.) Slowly but surely, more Americans are struggling to achieve a clarity of mind. We acknowledge what we " re up against and are willing to take actions to improve mental health in a movement dubbed the 'mental ecology movement. ' To fight and win we must recognize that culture has an ecology and that ecology determines our mental well-being.

There is a connection between mental health and the mental environment that people are slowly walking up to. There's a near perfect correlation between the rise of alienation in the modern world and the decline of people's mental states, with mental dysfunction growing globally. As empathy falls, narcissism and anti-social personalities arise. These are not symptoms of internal or organic disease, instead it is the social system that is creating them and thus the social system that we must work to refine (DeGrandpre, G. 2004.)

Bibliography

American Parents Express Deep Concern Over Media's Impact on Kids". 21 May 2004.
Retrieved Feb. 2005 from web org / about us / press /articles / press re lea se american parents.
php. DeGrandpre, Richard. "Comfortably Numb". ADBUSTERS magazine Sept / Oct 2004".
Health Behavior Models". Retrieved May 1998 from web here / how to / images /Behavior.
html " The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity". Issue Brief Feb. 2004.
Kaiser Family Foundation". Walsh, David. "Slipping Under the Radar: Advertising and the Mind". Retrieved Feb. 2005 from web Walsh Gentile WHO.
pdf Willis, J. and Okunade, A. "The influence of TV, Movies, and the Internet on Health Perceptions". Reporting on risks: The practice and ethics of health and safety communication. 1997.
Yates, B.L. "Media Literacy: A Health Education Perspective". Media and Health Journal of Health Education, 30 (3), 183-187. Retrieved May 2003 from web.