“Affective Determinants of Health Behavior” - An Interview with David Williams about His New Book

Paul Branscum, PhD, RD, Senior Co-Chair of the Theories and Techniques of Behavior Change Interventions SIG

 

Earlier this year, David Williams, Ryan Rhodes and Mark Conner published the book Affective Determinants of Health Behavior. The TTBCI SIG feels this is a comprehensive book that can be used by researchers wanting to learn more about affect as a determinant of health behaviors, but could also be used in intermediate undergraduate and graduate courses in a number of disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, and public health. Williams, Rhodes and Conner edited the book, and also contributed as authors to a number of chapters. The first chapter provides readers an overview of the affect construct. As Williams, Rhodes and Conner note, behavioral and social scientists have traditionally relied on cognitive based models (i.e., the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory) to understand health behavior, which place little to no emphasis on affective determinants of health. In the last few decades however the landscape has shifted.

With more attention now being placed on affective experience as an important determinant of behavior, there is a need to collect this research in a more accessible source, thus giving rise to purpose of this book. The book is divided into two main sections: the first section (chapters 2-10) presents research on components of affect (i.e., perceived satisfaction) or how affect can be applied to current theoretical models (i.e., the Reasoned Action Approach and Self-Determination Theory). The second section (chapters 11-20) reviews the role of affect across a number of behavioral domains (i.e., physical activity, sexual behaviors and clinical decision making). A strength to each chapter is the attention to future research. Each chapter highlights avenues for future research and/or application, thus providing value to SBM members.

Recently, I interviewed David Williams, one of the book’s editors and author of the chapter “Psychological Hedonism, Hedonic Motivation and Health Behavior” about the experience of publishing this book. When asked about why he thought this book was needed, he responded:

“My co-editors (Ryan Rhodes and Mark Conner) and I felt that a book was needed that provided an outlet for the new and exciting research being conducted on multiple domains of affect and how they influence various health-related behaviors. Until now, this expanding area of research has been scattered throughout various academic journals and we thought we could do a service to the field by bringing together into one volume the cutting-edge work being done by the stellar chapter contributors.”

I next asked him what he felt researchers needed to do most to advance the field of understanding ‘affect’ as a determinant of health behaviors, and he responded:

“There are numerous avenues for improving the state-of-the-science of affective determinants of health behavior. These can be broadly categorized into conceptual/theoretical contributions, including (but not limited to) defining and distinguishing among the various types of affective concepts, and empirical contributions on how the various affective concepts interrelate to influence different health behaviors.”

Finally, I asked him if readers could walk away with 1 or 2 things from reading this book, what would it be, and he responded: 

“One thing I would want readers to walk away with is an appreciation of the complexity of the broad domain of affect. As just a few examples, affective determinants of health behavior may include the pleasure or displeasure one experiences leading up to, during, and following an exercise session; the anticipation of regret for choosing not to donate blood; or the automatic hedonic motivation to eat another piece of Halloween candy even when we anticipate that it will make us feel guilty afterwards.”