Specific psychological constructs and comprehensive models or theories have been designed to account for individual differences in the way people abstain from risk behaviors, adopt health behaviors, and succeed or fail in self-regulatory attempts. The present article traces the development of recent health behavior theories and relates them to research in the fields of motivation and self-regulation. Special emphasis is placed on optimism, both as a state and as a trait construct within self-regulatory processes. It is argued that optimistic self-beliefs may be phase-specific. For example, some individuals may have high confidence in their ability to set ambitious goals, whereas others may have high confidence in their ability to recover from setbacks. Moreover, a distinction is made between goal attainment processes and threat appraisal processes. Thus, emotions and behavior may differ when striving for superior health goals as opposed to coping with health threats. The present considerations are put forward to further elaborate the author's Health Action Process Approach (HAPA).
Abraham, C. , Sheeran, P. , & Johnston, M. (1998). From health beliefs to self-regulation: Theoretical advances in the psychology of action control. Psychology and Health, 569-591.
2.
Abraham, C. , Sheeran, P. , Norman, N. & Conner, P. (1996). Safer sex: Are good intentions enough? Paper presented at the 10th European Health Psychology Society Conference, Dublin, Ireland, September.
3.
Aspinwall, L. G. , & Taylor, S. E. (1997). A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping . Psychological Bulletin, 121, 417-436.
4.
Bagozzi, R. P. , & Edwards, E. A. (1998). Goal setting and goal pursuit in the regulation of body weight . Psychology and Health, 13, 593-621.
5.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
6.
Bandura, A. (1998). Health promotion from the perspective of social cognitive theory . Psychology and Health, 13, 623-649.
7.
Baumeister, R. F. , & Heatherton, T. F. (1996). Selfregulation failure: An overview . Psychology Inquiry, 7 (1), 1-15.
8.
Carver, C. S. (1996). Some ways in which goals differ and some implications of those differences. In P. M. Gollwitzer & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), The psychology of action: Linking cognition and motivation to behavior (pp. 645-672). New York: Guilford.
9.
Carver, C. S. , & Scheier, M. F. (1996). Selfregulation and its failures . Psychological Inquiry, 7, 32-40.
10.
Conner, M. , & Norman, P. (Eds.) (1996). Predicting health behaviour: Research and practice with social cognition models. Buckingham: Open University Press.
11.
DiClemente, C. C. , & Prochaska, J. O. (1982). Selfchange and therapy change of smoking behavior: A comparison of processes of change in cessation and maintenance . Addictive Behaviors, 7, 133-142.
12.
Dijkstra, A. , De Vries, H. , Roijackers, J. , & van Breukelen, G. (1998). Tailored interventions to communicate stage-matched information to smokers in different motivational stages . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 549-557.
13.
Ewart, C. K. (1992). Role of physical self-efficacy in recovery from heart attack. In R. Schwarzer (Ed.), Self-efficacy: Thought control of action (pp. 287-304). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
14.
Fuhrmann, A. , & Kuhl, J. (1998). Maintaining a healthy diet: Effects of personality and self-reward versus self-punishment on commitment to and enactment of self-chosen and assigned goals . Psychology and Health, 13, 651-686.
15.
Gollwitzer, P. M. , & Oettingen, G. (1998, in press). The emergence and implementation of health goals . Psychology and Health, 13, 687-715.
16.
Hahn, A. , & Renner, B. (1998). Perception of health risks: How smoker status affects defensive optimism . Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 11, 93-112.
17.
Heckhausen, H. (1991). Motivation and action. Berlin: Springer.
18.
Heckhausen, H. , & Kuhl, J. (1985). From wishes to actions: The dead ends and short cuts on the long way to action. In M. Frese & J. Sabini (Eds.), Goal-directed behavior: The concept of action in psychology (pp. 134-159). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
19.
Holman, H. , & Lorig, K. (1992). Perceived selfefficacy in self-management of chronic disease. In R. Schwarzer (Ed.), Self-efficacy: Thought control of action (pp. 305-323). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
20.
Janis, I. L. , & Mann, L. (1977). Decision making: A psychological analysis of conflict, choice and commitment. New York: Free Press.
21.
Jerusalem, M. , & Schwarzer, R. (1992). Self-efficacy as a resource factor in stress appraisal processes. In R. Schwarzer (Ed.), Self-efficacy: Thought control of action (pp. 195-213). New York: Hemisphere.
22.
Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Emotion and adaptation. London: Oxford University Press.
23.
Locke, E. A. , & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
24.
Marlatt, G. A. , Baer, J. S. , & Quigley, L. A. (1995). Self-efficacy and addictive behavior. In A. Bandura (Ed.), Self-efficacy in changing societies (pp. 289-315). New York: Cambridge University Press.
25.
Marlatt, G. A. , & Gordon, J. R. (Eds.) (1985). Relapse prevention. New York: Guilford.
26.
Prochaska, J. O. (1994). Strong and weak principles for progressing from precontemplation to action on the basis of twelve problem behaviors . Health Psychology, 13 (1), 47-51.
27.
Schröder, K. E. E. , Schwarzer, R. , & Konertz, W. (1998). Coping as a mediator in recovery from cardiac surgery . Psychology and Health, 13, 83-97.
28.
Schwarzer, R. (1992). Self-efficacy in the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors: Theoretical approaches and a new model. In R. Schwarzer (Ed.), Self-efficacy: Thought control of action (pp. 217-242). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
29.
Schwarzer, R. (1994). Optimism, vulnerability, and self-beliefs as health-related cognitions: A systematic overview . Psychology and Health, 9, 161-180.
30.
Schwarzer, R. (1996). Thought control of action: Interfering self-doubts. In I. G. Sarason , G. R. Pierce , & B. R. Sarason (Eds.), Cognitive interference: Theories, methods, and findings (pp. 99-115). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
31.
Schwarzer, R. , & Fuchs, R. (1996). Self-efficacy and health behaviors. In M. Conner & P. Norman (Eds.), Predicting health behaviour: Research and practice with social cognition models (pp. 163-196). Buckingham: Open University Press.
32.
Sheeran, P. , & Abraham, C. (1996). The Health Belief Model. In M. Conner & P. Norman (Eds.), Predicting health behaviour (pp. 23-61). Buckingham: Open University Press.
33.
Sutton, S. R. (1996). Can “stages of change’ provide guidance in the treatment of addictions? A critical examination of Prochaska and DiClemente's model. In G. Edwards & C. Dare (Eds.), Psychotherapy, psychological treatments, and the addictions (pp. 189-205). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
34.
Taylor, S. E. , & Gollwitzer, P. M. (1995). Effects of mindset on positive illusions . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 213-226.
35.
Taylor, S. E. , Pham, L. B. , Rivken, I. D. , & Armor, D. A. (1998). Harnessing the imagination: Mental simulation, self-regulation, and coping . American Psychologist, 53, 429-439.
36.
Toshima, M. T. , Kaplan, R. M. , & Ries, A. L. (1992). Self-efficacy expectancies in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rehabilitation. In R. Schwarzer (Ed.), Self-efficacy: Thought control of action (pp. 325-354). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
37.
Wallston, K. A. (1994). Theoretically based strategies for health behavior change. In M. P. O'Donnell & J. S. Harris (Eds.), Health promotion in the workplace (2nd ed., pp. 185-203). Albany, NY: Delmar.
38.
Weinstein, N. D. (1982). Unrealistic optimism about susceptibility to health problems . Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 5, 441-460.
39.
Weinstein, N. D. (1988). The precaution adoption process . Health Psychology, 7, 355-386.
40.
Weinstein, N. D. (1993). Testing four competing theories of health-protective behavior . Health Psychology, 12, 324-333.
41.
Weinstein, N. D. , Rothman, A. J. , & Sutton, S. R. (1998). Stage theories of health behavior: Conceptual and methodological issues . Health Psychology, 17(3), 290-299.
42.
Weinstein, N. D. , & Sandman, P. M. (1992). A model of the precaution adoption process: Evidence from home radon testing . Health Psychology, 11, 170-180.
