Learning Theory

A theoretical foundation for Stick With It! lies in the behavior change Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) developed by Icek Ajzen and Martin Fishbein. These theories attempt to understand the correlation between attitudes, intentions and behaviors. TRA asserts that humans are rational beings, and that they will make use of information available to them and will consider the consequences of their actions before deciding whether to or to not engage in a behavior. It was soon realized that this theory was limited, as it did not apply to situations where people feel that they have little control over their behaviors and attitudes. Thus came the Theory of Planned Behavior that has a strong application to health education; it is quite often used to understand and predict both healthy and unhealthy behavior. (Brown 1998)

In most cases, if teenagers were able to adjust and monitor their behaviors as they wished, they would not be in need of additional assistance or support. As evidenced by the information we collected from our sample group of teenagers, there are multitudes of reasons why teenagers might feel that is not in their volitional control to change their risky behaviors. An important factor in TPB is the idea of behavioral intent, which is an indication of how much of an effort an individual will exert in order to perform a behavior. Behavioral intent is influenced by 3 components, all of which we will address in Stick With It:

• Attitudes: One’s evaluation of the behavior in question. We are targeting teenagers who will already have the desired attitude, yet lack the ability to enact it on their own. The education aspect of the website will also address these attitudes at length.
• Subjective Norm: The influence of perceived social pressure on an individual to perform or not perform a behavior. The peer aspect of our website will give teenagers a positive social pressure to change, ideally strong enough to combat the social pressure that occurs in the other parts in their lives.
• Perceived Behavioral Control: The belief of how easy or difficult it will be to change a behavior. This is essentially the crux of what Stick With It! is addressing with young people; their self-efficacy around their belief that they can effect change within themselves.

Albert Bandura’s theories go one step beyond the TPB and asserts that self-efficacy is the main determining factor in whether or not people will change their behaviors. In order to raise self-efficacy levels, thereby increasing the likelihood of a positive change in behavior, people need guided mastery experiences – experiences that allow them to safely and successfully practice their desired behavior. The idea of the cell phone intervention fits in well with the idea of mastery experiences; eventually, the scaffold fades and individuals are able to succeed on their own.

We modeled our surveys after Bandura’s self-efficacy scales as they had a great deal of relevancy to both the subject matter and the target audience we were dealing with. We realize, however, that self-efficacy is a difficult thing to accurately measure, so we developed additional survey questions as well.

Another area where Stick With It draws strong theoretical support is from peer education. Peer education uses young people as credible prevention messengers to effect change among other young people; it has been proven to be a highly effective prevention strategy with youth. Peer education has been successful both at the individual level, in changing attitudes and skills, and also at the societal level in influencing group norms. Peer education is consistent with several behavior change theories, among them social learning theory, the theory of reasoned action, the diffusion of innovation theory, and the theory of participatory education. Additionally, a report called Generation rx.com by the Kaiser Family Foundation asserts that “Hearing the real experiences of other people their own age is very important.” (Rideout December 2001)

The Theory of Planned Behavior, or, more accurately, a shortcoming of TPB, also supports the use of a mobile phone when attempting to change behavior. A limitation to the theory is that the longer the time interval between the behavioral intention and the behavior itself, the less likely it is that the desired behavior will occur. This is why we believe the mobile phone component of our product has a unique opportunity to move beyond existing alternatives—it offers the possibility to insert itself and remind a teenager of their behavioral intent in the moment where they are forced to make a decision about their behavioral actions.

An area where Stick With It! goes beyond existing alternatives is that it not only addresses the strategic and educational task of working with young people to change their behavior, but also empowers them to design a plan that they can use in the moment of conflict. Most approaches to changing teen behaviors fall short when it comes to intervention at the time and place that it is necessary to enact the desired behavior. Our product will bridge the gap between learning the information and putting it into action in the teen’s own environment, where and when it is most needed.

We plan on using a blended strategy of learning theories in developing Stick With It, incorporating cognitive, situative, and behaviorist principles.

• Cognitive: Our design addresses the meta-cognitive skills of setting goals, strategizing around those goals, continually evaluating outcomes, and reflecting on the process.
• Situative: Situative learning theory will be employed as teens will be assisted where and when they need support, as well as incorporating working with peers groups to help plan, evaluate, and reflect on their learning. Stick With It! will also allow the young people to design the intervention strategy that they believe will work for them.
• Behaviorist: Lastly our design addresses changing or modifying the specific behaviors young people want to work on, ideally using the repeating cycle of education, reflection, and intervention.