With the start of the new year, there are a lot of people who are attempting to change something about their behavior, whether it’s being more grateful, a new diet, or exercising regularly. Many of these people will fail in their resolutions. According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, only 9% of Americans actually felt that they were successful with the resolutions they made at the start of the new year.1
If we look to the material from class, Dr. De Young presented behavior change on a scale. Attitudes, declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge are listed on the labile end of the scale and values, character strengths and world views are on the stable end. According to this breakdown, many of our current approaches to behavior change focus on the labile end of the scale, and have a weak association with “enduring and growing behavior.” In this summary of behavior change, it is difficult to see how one approach may move through these different relationships. However, in thinking about how to move from one end of the spectrum to the other, we may be able to alter or improve our current approaches to incorporate more relationships on the stable end, instead of focusing on incorporating brand new or uncommon approaches.
Motivation is very important for behavior change as well and fits into relationships all along the spectrum. Addressing a person’s motivation for their actions or their desire for behavior change may allow an avenue to move smoothly from one end of the spectrum to the other. Methods like motivational interviewing, a counseling approach used to change behaviors by helping clients examine their motivation for their actions, may be a good place to start.2 While focusing on attitudes, a motivation-based approach can help a person examine how their action fits into their values, and can in the process, possibly even help to change those values.
In the new year, we talk a lot about motivation. Why does it disappear? Often, people start with huge goals and fail quickly. Many sources recommended small changes which could then be built on for larger, values-driven and long-lasting lifestyle changes. It’s important to start on the labile end of the scale and build up to the stable end, because without those smaller changes, true and lasting change will likely continue to be difficult.3-5
Do you think it’s possible to change behavior by focusing on new approaches to address the “stable” relationships end of the spectrum? Have we already done enough to address relationships in the “labile” end?
- "Motivational Interviewing: An evidence-based approach to counseling helps patients follow treatment recommendations". American Journal of Nursing. October 2007.
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-years-resolutions-psychology_us_5862d599e4b0d9a59459654c
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