| Course | HLTH 2500 Theories of Health Behavior |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 7 |
| Paper type | Model comparison |
| Length | About 1,090 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | BS in Public Health |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HLTH 2500 Week 7
Two Models, One Lunchtime Walk: What the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Health Belief Model Each Predict, Explain and Leave Unsaid
Student Name
Walden University
HLTH 2500: Theories of Health Behavior
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Two Models, One Lunchtime Walk: What the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Health Belief Model Each Predict, Explain and Leave Unsaid
The Behavior
Both models are applied to the Week 4 behavior: the lunchtime walk of ten brisk minutes or more, three or more times a week, by employees of a county office. Holding the behavior fixed means any difference in what the models say comes from the models, not from the problem.
The Two Models in Brief
Under the theory of planned behavior, two things sit closest to action, intention and perceived control, and intention in turn draws on the person's evaluation of the act, their sense of others' expectations and their perceived control (Ajzen, 1991). The health belief model expects action when a person sees a health threat as likely for them and serious, sees the action as helpful and judges its benefits larger than its costs; cues to action prompt the decision (Janz & Becker, 1984). Self-efficacy was later added to the health belief model (Rosenstock et al., 1988).
What Each Model Predicts
The predictions diverge in a way that can be tested. The health belief model predicts that a worker who has just learned their blood pressure is high, raising perceived susceptibility, will be more likely to walk. The theory of planned behavior predicts that the same news will matter only if it changes the worker's attitude toward this particular walk, and that a worker whose supervisor expects them at their desk may still not walk regardless of their blood pressure.
Table 1
Predictions for the Specified Behavior
| Question | Theory of planned behavior | Health belief model | |
|---|---|---|
| Who will walk? | Workers with favorable attitudes toward the walk, supportive important others, high perceived control and strong intention | Workers who feel at risk of conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, see those conditions as serious, see walking as beneficial and see few barriers | |
| What is the closest predictor? | Intention, plus perceived control | No single closest predictor; the beliefs act together, prompted by a cue | |
| What would raise walking? | Changing outcome beliefs, normative beliefs or control beliefs, especially control | Raising perceived threat, stressing benefits, lowering barriers and supplying cues | |
| Role of health? | Health outcomes are one set of possible outcome beliefs among many | Health threat is the starting point of the model | |
The models differ most on where health enters: as the frame in the health belief model and as one consideration among many in the theory of planned behavior.
What Each Model Explains
The theory of planned behavior explains well why workers who agree that walking is healthy still do not walk: perceived behavioral control is low, because of meetings, heat or the lack of a pleasant route, or the subjective norm runs against leaving the building. Across 185 studies, perceived control predicted both intention and behavior beyond attitude and norms (Armitage & Conner, 2001), which suits a behavior that depends heavily on the conditions of the workday.
The health belief model explains well why some workers begin walking after a health scare or a screening result. Its barriers construct overlaps with perceived control in practice, and barriers have been among the model's strongest predictors: a meta-analysis of 18 longitudinal studies found perceived benefits and barriers consistently the strongest predictors of behavior, while severity and susceptibility were weak (Carpenter, 2010). For lunchtime walking, that suggests the model's distinctive constructs, the ones about threat, may add little, while the parts that overlap with the theory of planned behavior do most of the work.
What Each Model Leaves Unsaid
Silence is where the comparison is most informative.
The health belief model is silent about other people. It has no construct for what a supervisor or coworkers expect. For a behavior performed at a workplace during a break that others may see as time away from work, that silence matters. A worker who feels at risk, sees the benefit and finds no physical barrier may still stay at the desk because leaving feels unwelcome, and the model has no place to record that reason.
The health belief model is also silent about intention as a step between beliefs and action. It treats beliefs as directly raising the likelihood of action, which makes it hard to locate where a worker who believes everything the model asks still fails to act.
The theory of planned behavior is silent about cues. Nothing in it addresses the reminder, the coworker at the door or the calendar alert that prompts a walk on a particular day. The health belief model's cues to action, though rarely well measured, at least name the role.
The theory of planned behavior is also silent about health threat as such. A worker's fear of diabetes can enter only as an outcome belief about walking, alongside beliefs about sweat and lost lunch time. That is a strength for behaviors done for reasons other than health, and a weakness for behaviors that people take up mainly because of a diagnosis.
Both models are silent about habit. Neither has a construct for a lunch routine that runs without deliberation, and both assume that the behavior follows from beliefs reconsidered each time.
Table 2
Silences of Each Model for This Behavior
| Topic | Theory of planned behavior | Health belief model | |
|---|---|---|
| Expectations of others | Covered by subjective norm | Silent | |
| Health threat | Only as one outcome belief | Central | |
| Cues on the day | Silent | Named, rarely measured | |
| Step between belief and action | Intention | Silent | |
| Habit | Silent | Silent | |
The shared silence on habit is the most important finding for a behavior repeated every workday.
Which Model Fits This Behavior Better
For this particular walk, at this particular workplace, the theory of planned behavior fits better. The behavior is shaped strongly by workplace conditions and by what others expect, which the theory covers and the health belief model does not. The health belief model's distinctive constructs, susceptibility and severity, are the ones evidence suggests predict least, and walking at lunch is not mainly a response to a health threat for most workers. The health belief model would fit better for a worker who began walking after a diagnosis, and its cues to action point to something the theory of planned behavior ignores.
Conclusion
Set to work on the same behavior, the two models make different predictions about the role of health threat and of other people, explain different groups of workers and fall silent in different places. The silence they share, on habit, is the most consequential for a behavior that becomes part of a daily routine.
References
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Armitage, C. J., & Conner, M. (2001). Efficacy of the theory of planned behaviour: A meta-analytic review. British Journal of Social Psychology, 40(4), 471-499. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466601164939
Carpenter, C. J. (2010). A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of health belief model variables in predicting behavior. Health Communication, 25(8), 661-669. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2010.521906
Janz, N. K., & Becker, M. H. (1984). The health belief model: A decade later. Health Education Quarterly, 11(1), 1-47. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019818401100101
Rosenstock, I. M., Strecher, V. J., & Becker, M. H. (1988). Social learning theory and the health belief model. Health Education Quarterly, 15(2), 175-183. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019818801500203
Reading the HLTH 2500 Week 7 instructions
Model comparisons in this course ask you to apply two theories to the same behavior and report what each one says, rather than comparing their features in the abstract. Fix the behavior first and keep it the same throughout. Summarize each model briefly. Then compare in three parts: what each model predicts for this behavior, what each explains well and what each leaves unsaid. Tables help for predictions and silences. Use evidence, ideally meta-analyses, to judge which constructs carry predictive weight. Give silences particular attention, since what a model cannot represent often matters most for practice. Conclude by stating which model fits this behavior better and why, while noting the situations in which the other model would fit better. Avoid a closing judgment that one model is better in general, because the comparison only supports a judgment about this behavior.
Inside the HLTH 2500 Week 7 example
The paper opens by fixing the behavior and summarizing both models, citing Ajzen, Janz and Becker and Rosenstock and colleagues. Table 1 compares predictions for four questions, including where health enters each model. A section explains what each model accounts for, citing Armitage and Conner on perceived control and Carpenter on benefits and barriers. A section on silences explains the health belief model's lack of a normative construct and intention step, and the theory of planned behavior's lack of cues and threat. Table 2 summarizes the silences, including the shared silence on habit. A section judges the theory of planned behavior the better fit for this behavior, and the conclusion returns to habit.
Where the marks sit in the HLTH 2500 Week 7 rubric
Faculty evaluate a model comparison on whether both models are actually applied to the same behavior. Predictions should be concrete and, where possible, testable. Using evidence to judge which constructs carry weight earns credit. The section on silences is often the most heavily weighted, because it shows the student understands each model's boundaries. Tables are valued when they add clarity. A conclusion that judges fit for this behavior, while acknowledging when the other model might fit better, shows balance. Comparisons that list similarities and differences in the abstract, or that change the behavior partway through, earn less. Faculty also check that each model is described accurately, including later additions such as self-efficacy in the health belief model.
Common HLTH 2500 Week 7 mistakes, and how to avoid them
The most common mistake in this assignment is writing two summaries side by side. Avoid it by choosing your behavior first and asking the same questions of each model: who will do the behavior, what would increase it and what can this model not see? Write the answers in a table before you write paragraphs. Look up a review for each model so you can say which constructs actually predict behavior. Spend real time on silences; ask what a person might say about why they do or do not do the behavior that neither model could record. We can help you compare two models for a behavior you have chosen. Before you finish, check that your conclusion judges fit for your behavior rather than declaring one model better in general.
Get a HLTH 2500 Week 7 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 7 prompt, the rubric and the pair of models your section assigned, and the desk writes the comparison organized by question, with the near-pair constructs sorted out and a verdict for this behavior. A first custom piece is free, returned in 24-48h. Assigned pairings are used exactly as given.
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HLTH 2500 Week 7 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HLTH 2500 Week 7 sample paper?
The comparison of the theory of planned behavior and the health belief model for lunchtime walking, with tables and references, is free to read here.
On what do the two models disagree most in the HLTH 2500 Week 7 example?
On health threat, central to the health belief model, and on others' expectations, central to the theory of planned behavior.
What does Carpenter's meta-analysis add?
Perceived benefits and barriers were the strongest health belief model predictors, while severity and susceptibility were weak.
What silence do both models share?
Neither has a construct for habit, which matters for a behavior repeated every workday.
Which model fits lunchtime walking better?
The theory of planned behavior, because workplace conditions and others' expectations shape the behavior more than health threat does.