Protection motivation theory

Protection motivation theory is a theory that was originally created to help clarify fear appeals. The protection motivation theory proposes that people protect themselves based on four factors: the perceived severity of a threatening event, the perceived probability of the occurrence, or vulnerability, the efficacy of the recommended preventive behavior, and the perceived self efficacy. Protection motivation stems from both the threat appraisal and the coping appraisal. The threat appraisal assesses the severity of the situation and examines how serious the situation is. The coping appraisal is how one responds to the situation. The coping appraisal consists of both efficacy and self-efficacy. Efficacy is the individual's expectancy that carrying out recommendations can remove the threat. Self-efficacy is the belief in one's ability to execute the recommended courses of action successfully. PMT is one model that explains why people engage in unhealthy practices and offers suggestions for changing those behaviors. It is educational and motivational. Primary prevention: taking measures to combat the risk of developing a health problem. (e.g., controlling weight to prevent high blood pressure). Secondary prevention: taking steps to prevent a condition from becoming worse. (e.g., remembering to take daily medication to control blood pressure).

The protection motivation theory was founded by R.W. Rogers in 1975 in order to better understand fear appeals and how people cope with them. However Dr. Rogers would later expand on the theory in 1983 where he extended the theory to a more general theory of persuasive communication. The theory was originally based on the work of Richard Lazarus who spent much of his time researching how people behave and cope during stressful situations. In his book, Stress, Appraisal, and Coping, Richard Lazarus discusses the idea of the cognitive appraisal processes and how they relate to coping with stress. He states that people "differ in their sensitivity and vulnerability to certain types of events, as well as in their interpretations and reactions". While Richard Lazarus came up with many of the fundamental ideas used in the protection motivation theory, Rogers was the first to apply the terminology when discussing fear appeals. Today the protection motivation theory is mainly used when discussing health issues and how people react when diagnosed with health related illnesses.

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