Theories of Behavior Change

Abstract

Promoting behavior change in students, school personnel, and families is imperative to the work of school psychologists. Thus, this chapter introduces theories of behavior change and empirical support relevant to the work of school psychologists. We first provide a brief overview of behavioral and cognitive models that have been instrumental to understanding behavior and informing subsequently developed theories of behavior change. Next, we introduce motivational interviewing as an important approach by which school psychologists can influence behavior change. Further, we review two major theories of behavior change (i.e., the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Transtheoretical Model), along with discussions of their applications to the field of school psychology. In particular, the Theory of Planned Behavior is discussed regarding its role in conceptualizing and changing behavioral intentions of students, teachers, and families. Evidence for the Transtheoretical Model and its application to school psychology (e.g., teacher consultation) is also presented. Lastly, we introduce a third key theory—the Unified Theory of Behavior Change. Further, to illustrate an integration of the Unified Theory of Behavior and motivational interviewing, we provide a case study example involving a school psychologist working with a high school student at risk for academic failure.

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