ABSTRACT
Many health conditions are caused by risky behaviors such as problem drinking, substance use, smoking, reckless driving, overeating, and unprotected sexual contact. Fortunately, human beings have, in principle, control over their conduct. Health-compromising behaviors can be eliminated by self-regulatory efforts, and health-enhancing behaviors. For instance, physical exercise, weight control, preventive nutrition, dental hygiene, or condom use, can be adopted. Perceiving a health threat seems to be the most obvious prerequisite for the motivation to end a risky behavior. In summary, changing health-related behaviors involves an initial motivation process that results in setting goals and a subsequent self-regulation processes that address the pursuit of these goals. Health psychologists are attempting to model these processes in order to understand how people become motivated to change their risky behaviors, and how they become encouraged to adopt and maintain healthy actions. In the initial motivation phase, a person develops an intention to act.
