Theories and Models of Strategic Communication For Behaviour and Social Change

Theories and Models of Strategic Communication for Behaviour and Social Change
Presentation Objectives
At the end of this presentation, you should be able to: Describe different frameworks of communication; Explain various theories and models of communication for behaviour and social change; Explain how to combine and apply these theories to your communication interventions and programmes.
Communication Conceptual Frameworks

Diagrams that identify and illustrate the relationships and linkages among all relevant program components - organizational elements, individual attributes and other salient factors that may influence project.
Purpose of Communication Frameworks

To provide a perspective for understanding program objectives within a complete context of relevant factors in a programs operating environment. To clarify analytical assumptions and their implications for program possibility or limitations on success, as well as measuring and analyzing that degree of success.
Examples of Communication Conceptual Frameworks
Community Action Cycle

Phase 1: Assessments/ Self-Exploration
Expected Outcomes Community peer Assessments Increased: Ownership Awareness Dialogue Desire for Community Action Community Action Forum Community-owned Initiatives
Phase 2: Action Planning
Phase 3: Implementation
Expected Outcomes Increased: Cooperative environment Work effectiveness supportive social networks for individuals to adopt and maintain use of services and cooperative behaviors knowledge about services and prevention of sociomisbehaviour
Conceptual Model for CommunityBased Participatory Analysis/Information System

Sensitize the community to the need for action Explore underlying problems affecting community
Evaluate and re-plan together
Act together/Monitor together
Agree on priorities
Plan together
Theories and Models of Behaviour Change

There are four categories of theories of behaviour change: Focus on Individuals Social Theories and Models Structural and Environmental Constructs alone and Trans-theoretical Models These theories should be viewed as a continuum of models moving from the strictly individuallycentered to the macro-level of structural and environmentally focused.
Focus on Individuals
Working environmental design is propelled by several behavioral factors. Theories about how individuals change their behavior have provided the foundation for effective working environment efforts worldwide. These theories have been generally created using cognitive attitudinal and affectivemotivational constructs.
Psychosocial models of behavioral risk can be categorized into 3 major groups: Those predicting risk behavior; Those predicting behavioral change; Those predicting maintenance of safe behavior.
Models of individual behavioural change generally focus on stages that individuals pass through while trying to change behaviour.
These theories and models generally do not consider the interaction of social, cultural and environmental issues as independent of individual factors (Auerbach, 1994).
Although each theory is built on different assumptions they all state that behavioural changes occur by altering potential risk-producing situations and social relationships, risk perceptions, attitudes, self- efficacy beliefs, intentions and outcome expectations (Kalichman, 1997).
Social Cognitive (or Learning) Theory

The premise of the social cognitive or social learning theory (SCT) states that new behaviours are learned either by modeling the behaviour of others or by direct experience. Social learning theory focuses on the important roles played by vicarious, symbolic, and self-regulatory processes in psychological functioning and looks at human behaviour as a continuous interaction between cognitive, behavioural and environmental determinants (Bandura, 1977).
Social Cognitive (or Learning) Theory

Central tenets of the social cognitive theory are: self-efficacy - the belief in the ability to implement the necessary behavior ( I know I can work effectively with my partner in this environment). outcome expectancies - beliefs about outcomes such as the belief that using condoms correctly will prevent HIV infection.
Theory of Reasoned Action

The theory of reasoned action, advanced in the mid-1960s by Fishbein and Ajzen, is based on the assumptions that human beings are usually quite rational and make systematic use of the information available to them. People consider the implications of their actions in a given context at a given time before they decide to engage or not engage in a given behaviour, and that most actions of social relevance are under volitional control (Ajzen, 1980).
Theory of Reasoned Action

The theory of reasoned action specifically focuses on the role of personal intention in determining whether a behavior will occur. A persons intention is a function of 2 basic determinants: attitude (toward the behaviour) subjective norms, i.e. social influence.
Stages of Change Model

6 stages that individuals or groups pass through when changing behavior: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and relapse.
Stages of Change Model

With respect to peer working, the stages could be described as:
Has not considered sharing one knowledge (precontemplation). Recognizes the need to cooperation (contemplation) Thinking about sharing and cooperating with the partner in the next months (preparation) Getting along well with the partner at work consistently for less than 6 months (action) Cooperating well with co-workers consistently for a long period of time (maintenance) Need of cooperation at work (relapse).
Conclusion
These theories continue to provide important guidance to interventions in formulating design and evaluation with diverse populations in a wide variety of settings. The theories also help in understanding study results. It is important, however, to pay particular attention to these theories across cultures and gender as nearly all the individually based theories were developed in the West with little focus on the role of gender.
Conclusion
Although numerous studies have proven the usefulness of these theories, it has become increasingly evident that alone they do not entirely explain why some people behave the way they do; why in some cultures people have a higher cooperative attitude toward each other than others; nor the complex interactions between contextual factors and individual behavior.
Social Theories and Models

Overemphasis on individual behavioral change with a focus on the cognitive level has undermined the overall research capacity to understand the complexity of peoples acting and cooperating at work.
Focus only on the individual psychological process ignores the interactive relationship of behavior in its social, cultural, and economic dimension thereby missing the possibility to fully understand crucial determinants of behavior.
Social Theories and Models

Aggleton (1996) points out that, in many cases, motivations are complicated, unclear and may not be thought through in advance. Societal norms, religious criteria, and gender-power relations infuse meaning into behavior, enabling positive or negative changes. A main difference between individual and social models is that the latter aim at changes at the community level.
Diffusion of Innovation Theory

The diffusion of innovation theory (Rogers, 1983) describes the process of how an idea is disseminated throughout a community. This theory has four essential elements: the innovation its communication the social system time.

Peoples exposure to a new idea, which takes place within a social network or through the media, will determine the rate at which various people adopt a new behaviour.
The theory posits that people are most likely to adopt new behaviours based on favorable evaluations of the idea communicated to them by other members whom they respect (Kegeles, 1996).

Kelly explains that when the diffusion theory is that normative and risk behavioral changes can be initiated when enough key opinion leaders adopt and endorse behavioral changes, influence others to do the same and eventually diffuse the new norm widely within peer networks. Interventions using this theory generally investigate the best method to disperse messages within a community and who are the leaders able to act as role models to change community norms.
Social Influence or Social Inoculation Model

This educational model is based on the concept that young people engage in behaviors partly because of general societal influences, but more specifically from their peers (Howard 1990). The model suggests exposing young people to social pressures while teaching them to examine and develop skills to deal with these pressures.
The model often relies on role models such as teenagers slightly older than program participants to present factual information, identify pressures, role-play responses to pressures, teach assertiveness skills and discuss problem situations (Howard, 1990) (i.e. stop smoking campaigns). Social influence model has been used to reduce smoking among young people as well.
Social Network Theory

The Social Network Theory looks at social behavior not as an individual phenomenon but through relationships, and appreciates that cooperative behavior, unlike many other behaviors, directly involves at least 2 people (Morris, 1997). Although the intricacies of relations and communication within the couple, the smallest unit of the social network, is critical to the understanding of cooperative behavior in the model, the scope and character of ones broader social network, those who serve as reference people, and who sanction behavior, are key to comprehending individual risk behavior (Auerbach, 1994). In other words, social norms are best understood at the level of social networks.
Theory of Gender and Power

The theory of gender and power is a social structural theory addressing the wider social and environmental issues surrounding women, such as distribution of power and authority, affective influences, and gender-specific norms. Using this theory to guide intervention development with women in relationships can help investigate how a womans commitment to a relationship and lack of power can influence her risk reduction choices (DiClemente, 1995).
Conclusion
Social theories and models see individual behaviours embedded in their social and cultural context. Social theories tend to focus on social norms, relationships and gender imbalances that create the meaning and determinants of behaviour and behavioural change. These theories dictate that efforts to effect change at the community level will have the most significant impact on individuals who are contemplating changes and on those who have made changes but need support to sustain those changes. Social theories have been increasingly used with populations especially vulnerable to effects of partners and peers. These theories and models have been developed in the West and few examples have tested their relevance in developing countries.
Structural and Environmental: Theory for Individual and Social Change or Empowerment Model This theory asserts that social change happens through dialogue to build up a critical perception of the social, cultural, political and economic forces that structure reality and by taking action against forces that are oppressive (Parker, 1996). In other words, empowerment should increase problem solving in a participatory fashion, and should enable participants to understand the personal, social, economic and political forces in their lives in order to take action to improve their situations (Israel, 1994).
Theory for Individual and Social Change or Empowerment Model Interventions using empowerment approaches must consider key concepts such as beliefs and practices that are linked to interpersonal, organizational and community change. Intervention activities can address issues at the community and organizational level such as central needs the community identifies, and any history community organizing among community members.
The theory would prescribe including participants in the planning and implementation of activities.
Constructs Alone and Trans-theoretical Models Perception of Risk Construct As behavioral interventions are designed to reduce higher risk behaviors, perception of risk is a construct in most individual psychosocial behavioral models and some interventions use the construct without applying any of the models in their entirety. Perception of risk as a predictor of future behavioral change has further complexities in circumstances where individuals report high perception of risk and high self-reported behavioral change.
Conclusion
Key elements of approaches to behavioral change programs. These elements include:
increasing participants ability to communicate effectively about effective working environment helping participants increase their communication skills personalizing risk, achieving participants perception of risk avoidance as an accepted social norm, providing reinforcement and support for sustaining risk reduction.
For individual level interventions to be successful, context specific information and skills are critical.

Theories and Models of Strategic Communication For Behaviour and Social Change

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Theories and Models of Strategic Communication for Behaviour and Social Change

Communication Conceptual Frameworks

Purpose of Communication Frameworks

Examples of Communication Conceptual Frameworks

Community Action Cycle

Phase 2: Action Planning

Conceptual Model for CommunityBased Participatory Analysis/Information System

Evaluate and re-plan together

Act together/Monitor together

Theories and Models of Behaviour Change

Social Cognitive (or Learning) Theory

Social Cognitive (or Learning) Theory

Theory of Reasoned Action

Theory of Reasoned Action

Stages of Change Model

Stages of Change Model

Social Theories and Models

Social Theories and Models

Diffusion of Innovation Theory

Diffusion of Innovation Theory

Diffusion of Innovation Theory

Social Influence or Social Inoculation Model

Social Network Theory

Theory of Gender and Power

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