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30 - Critical and Qualitative Approaches to Behavior Change

from Part II - Methods and Processes of Behavior Change: Intervention Development, Application, and Translation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2020

By
Kerry Chamberlain  and
Antonia Lyons
Edited by
Martin S. Hagger ,
Linda D. Cameron ,
Kyra Hamilton ,
Nelli Hankonen  and
Taru Lintunen
Martin S. Hagger
Affiliation:
University of California, Merced
Linda D. Cameron
Affiliation:
University of California, Merced
Kyra Hamilton
Affiliation:
Griffith University
Nelli Hankonen
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki
Taru Lintunen
Affiliation:
University of Jyväskylä
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Summary

This chapter offers a critical consideration of behavior change scholarship. It introduces the complexity of behavior change and provides a brief overview of major concerns that have been raised regarding behavior change theories and models. It then discusses how critical and qualitative approaches can provide a response to some of these concerns and how qualitative approaches have value for extending practice in this field. The chapter provides arguments for using qualitative research in behavior change research, gives examples of where qualitative approaches have been employed, and outlines social practice theory as a means to address many of the concerns about dominant approaches to behavior change. The chapter also discusses critical perspectives and their value to the field of behavior change research and implementation. In the final sections, the chapter outlines the benefits of researchers and practitioners working interdisciplinarily, advocates the importance of understanding and incorporating qualitative approaches into behavior change research, and highlights the value of taking a broader, more critical perspective on research and practice in this field.

Keywords

critical approachqualitative designsmixed methodshealth economic evaluationsocial practice theoryinductive approachsocial context
Type
Chapter
Information
The Handbook of Behavior Change , pp. 430 - 442
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

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