ABSTRACT
Behaviour change as both an idea and a goal has a rich but somewhat chequered history in the field of public health. Definitions of behaviour change are sparse. The root of the term lies in the field of behavioural psychology, which views behaviour, people's overt, observable actions, as acquired through a process of conditioning. People's responses to stimuli in the environment are seen as shaping behaviours. In the public health field, behaviour change refers to the explicit intention to shift behaviours in a more 'desirable' direction, away from health damaging towards more health enhancing forms. More recently attention has focused on changing more complex behaviour such as that about modes of travel and various kinds of pro-environmental behaviours such as household recycling. Interest has also grown about how to change the behaviours of health professionals and practitioners. Beyond behavioural economics, several psychological models of behaviour change have developed and tested out in the health field.
