Changing environmentally harmful behaviors: A stage model of self-regulated behavioral change

This article takes the model of action phases (MAP, Heckhausen 82 Gollwitzer, 1987) as a theoretical basis for conceptualizing behavioral change as a transition through a time-ordered sequence of four qualitatively different stages: predecisional, preactional, actional, and postactional. The constructs of goal intention, behavioral intention, and implementation intention provide the criteria for when an individual transits from one stage to the next. However, because MAP does not describe in detail psychological factors contributing to stage progression, constructs taken from the norm-activation model (Schwartz 82 Howard, 1981) and the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) are integrated. Results of a first correlational study (N = 908) identified four homogeneous stage subgroups. As expected, the probability of stage assignment was associated significantly with the three intention types marking the transition from one stage to the next. The proposed sets of stage-specific social-cognitive variables were powerful predictors of these three intention types. Potential implications of the model for systematic intervention development are discussed. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.