Strong and weak principles for progressing from precontemplation to action on the basis of twelve problem behaviors.

Prochaska, James O.·1994·Health Psychology
DOI 10.1037//0278-6133.13.1.47

Abstract

Two principles for progressing from the precontemplation stage of change to the action stage were discovered. The strong principle states that progression from precontemplation to action is a function of approximately a 1 standard deviation increase in the pros of a health behavior change. The weak principle states that progression from precontemplation to action is a function of approximately a 1/2 standard deviation decrease in the cons of a health behavior change. In Study 1, these principles were derived from cross-sectional data on 12 problem behaviors relating the pros and cons of changing to the stages of change. In Study 2, these principles were validated on cross-sectional data from an independent sample of 1,466 smokers. Discussion focuses on the implications of these principles for individual psychology and public health policy.

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    Prochaska, James O., DiClemente, Carlo C. · 1983 · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
  2. Statistical power of psychological research: What have we gained in 20 years?
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Cited by (16)

  1. The Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change.
    Prochaska, James O., Velicer, Wayne F. · 1997 · American Journal of Health Promotion
  2. Translating Social Ecological Theory into Guidelines for Community Health Promotion
    Stokols, Daniel · 1996 · American Journal of Health Promotion
  3. Stages of change
    Norcross, John C., Krebs, Paul M., Prochaska, James O. · 2011 · Journal of Clinical Psychology
  4. Social-cognitive predictors of health behavior: Action self-efficacy and coping self-efficacy.
    Schwarzer, Ralf, Renner, Britta · 2000 · Health Psychology
  5. Physical exercise habit: on the conceptualization and formation of habitual health behaviours
    Aarts, Henk, Paulussen, Theo, Schaalma, Herman · 1997 · Health Education Research

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Strong and weak principles for progressing from precontemplation to action on the basis of twelve problem behaviors. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//0278-6133.13.1.47
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Prochaska, J. O. (1994). Strong and weak principles for progressing from precontemplation to action on the basis of twelve problem behaviors. Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-6133.13.1.47

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