Health behavior as goal-directed action

The extent to which subjects would value and engage in different behaviors was related to how far such behaviors were seen to facilitate the attainment of different goals, and the value subjects placed on “staying healthy” was at best a partial predictor of their health habits and intentions.

Abstract

The perceived relationship of different health-related activities to a number of goals, including that of staying healthy, was examined by means of a postal questionnaire completed by 403 members of the general public. Other questions concerned subjects' own health behavior, intentions for behavior change, and vulnerability to specific conditions. The results showed that the extent to which subjects would value and engage in different behaviors (smoking, drinking, exercising, eating, and relaxing) was related to how far such behaviors were seen to facilitate the attainment of different goals. However, the value subjects placed on "staying healthy" was at best a partial predictor of their health habits and intentions.