I was thrilled to find this video on YouTube, a talk by one of the psychology greats, James Prochaska.
‘A scientific revolution is occurring in the field of behavior change. This revolution involves a shift from an action paradigm to a stage paradigm in which changing troubled behavior involves progressing through six stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and termination.
Previously almost all research and treatment programs were action-oriented but less than 20% of people with such behaviors are prepared to take action. Action-oriented programs resulted in relatively low participation rates, high dropout rates and small impacts on populations with unhealthy behaviors.
Dr. James O. Prochaska’s research from a stage paradigm is demonstrating psychological principles for progressing through the stages of change. Stage-matched treatment programs are demonstrating much higher participation rates, retention rates and impacts on entire populations with unhealthy behaviors.’
Dr. Prochaska’s discussion about the Transtheoretical Model for behavior change was broadcast live on January 10, 2001.
