THE THEORY OF SOCIAL COMPARISON AS A PROMOTER OF HEALTH BEHAVIOURS: A THEORETICAL APPROACH
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21134/haaj.v21i2.697Keywords:
health, health behaviors, Theory of Social Comparison, promotion of health behaviors, promotion of healthy lifestylesAbstract
Health is a major asset for people in relation to the welfare state and quality of life. Health Psychology has developed effective theories and models to cushion health risk factors and enhance health behavior. Action to control non-communicable diseases necessarily involves preventive measures. Rapid and effective action is essential to minimize the impact of mortality, and this requires health education programmes and psychosocial interventions to enhance health behaviours. A theoretical postulate is proposed from the theory of social comparison for learning and/or modifying health behaviors and healthy lifestyles. Among the dimensions of the social comparison reviewed, we can highlight those that start from the motivations of self-improvement as a downward contrast and the desire for self-improvement as an upward identification to theoretically explain the promotion of health behaviors.
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