ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the efficacy of focusing on the change of personal attitudes and behavior rather than on social change accomplished through collective action. Understanding the relationships among health beliefs, attitudes, and actions is becoming increasingly important to health care professionals, especially those concerned with issues surrounding rehabilitation and public health problems. Cognitive consistency researchers propose that "the attitude change process is one of rationalization and that people are motivated to be and appear consistent." Functional models focus upon the "instrumental nature of attitudes" or the function(s) that an attitude may provide for an individual. Persuasive-communication researchers move beyond the hypothesized effects of individual needs and thinking processes to a much broader focus. The community that was exposed to the mass media campaign plus the behavioral modification training achieved the most impressive results, but even the city that received only the media program made important achievements.