Precaution Adoption Process Model

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Precaution Adoption Process Model
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Sowhy do we need ANOTHER theory?

• Theories that try to explain behavior by looking
  at perceived costs and benefits of changing ones
  behavior only work if one knows enough or has had
  enough experience to have formed a belief.

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Review about Stage Theories

• Seek to explain/ understand behavior by looking
  at all the steps along the way.
• Advantage more efficient and effective
  intervention strategies.

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Essential Elements of Stage Theories

• Category system to define stages
• Put the stages in some sort of order
• People in the same stage will experience similar
  barriers to behavior change
• People in different stages will experience
  different barriers
• ConclusionPeople should respond better to
  interventions that are matched to the stage they
  are in.

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The Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM)

• Applies to behaviors which require deliberate
  action (rather than gradual habit development).
• Can help explain WHY and HOW people make
  deliberate choices

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The Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM)

• Goal to explain
• how a person comes to the decision to take action
• how that decision is translated into action
• Focuses on psychological processes within
  individuals
• Stages leading up to action are defined in terms
  of the required mental states, rather than
  external factors

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Stages of the PAPM

• Stage 1 Unaware
• Stage 2 Unengaged
• Stage 3 Deciding about acting
• Stage 4 Decided not to act
• Stage 5 Decided to act
• Stage 6 Acting
• Stage Maintenance

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Stage 1 Unaware

• If people have never heard about a particular
  hazard, they may not have opinions about it.
• Forcing these people to state an opinion
  (surveys, etc.) makes them reluctant to respond.
• Often times, the dont know results are ignored.

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Stage 2 Unengaged

• Have heard about the hazard.
• Starting to form opinions.
• Dont really think the issue applies to them
  (yet).
• How much do you have to know about something
  before it relates to you personally????

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Stage 3 Deciding about acting

• Important to distinguish between those who have
  never thought about personally taking action, and
  those who ARE thinking about it, but havent
  decided yet.
• These people tend to have had some personal
  experience with the issue.

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Important Point

• Getting people to think about an issue may
  require different sorts of communication (and
  overcoming different sorts of obstacles) than
  getting them to adopt a particular conclusion.

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Stage 4 Decided not to act

• Many studies have trouble distinguishing between
  those who havent gotten to the point of acting,
  and those who have actively decided NOT to act.
• Those who have actively decided not to act
  respond differently to information, and are more
  resistant to persuassion.

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Stage 4 Decided not to act

• These people have considered the available
  information, and have decided not to do anything,
  perhaps because they do not feel they need to.
• Will then tend to engage in actions that protect
  their decision/position.

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Stage 5 Decided to act

• This is where some of the other theories weve
  discussed fit because they focus on HOW we
  decide, and what influences our decisions.
• Considered the available information, and decided
  that they needed to act

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Stage 6 Acting

• Detailed implementation information can be dealt
  with now information they werent ready to hear
  before they had decided to act.
• Information will influence WHAT they chose to do.
• Deciding what to do.

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Stage 7 Maintenance

• Similar to all other theories behavior change
  has occurred. The change has to reach the point
  of being ingrained.

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Making Progress through the Stages