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Theory of Triadic Influence
Theory of Triadic Influence
A new theory of health behavior with implications for preventive interventions
Some theories of health focus on proximal cognitive predicts of behavior, some
focus on expectancy-value formulations, some focus on social support and bonding
processes, some focus on social learning processes, and some point toward personality
and intrapersonal processes. Very few extant theories of health behavior incorporate
several of these view points, and those that do are limited in various ways. We
propose a new comprehensive theory that integrates constructs from all previous
theories. Triadic influence theory includes seven “tiers” of “causes”
of behavior that range from very proximal to distal to ultimate, and three “streams
of influence” that flow through the seven “tiers”: (I) cultural-environmental
influences on knowledge and values, influencing attitudes; (2) social situation-context
influences on social bonding and social learning, influencing social normative
beliefs; and (3) intrapersonal influences on self determination/control and
social skills, leading to self-efficacy. In addition to the direct influences
of these streams, there are important inter-stream effects and influences that
flow between tiers. The theory is intended to account for factors that have
direct effects as well as indirect effects on behavior. It is also intended
to account for both new behaviors and regular behavior. Experiences with related
behaviors and early experiences with a new behavior lead to feedback loops through
all three steams adding to the prior influences of these streams. Our integration
of existing theories leads to a meta-theoretical view that
suggests higher order descriptions and explanations of health behavior, leads
to a new and comprehensive view of health behavior change, and suggests new
approaches for health promotion and disease prevention.
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Theoretical Basis
References