Belief in free will

Integration into social cognition models to promote health behavior

Bibliographic Data

ID21592010
AuthorsTom St Quinton (0000-0002-5014-4729, Leeds Trinity University, corresponding author), A William Crescioni (South Plains College)
Year2024
Volume37
Issue8
Pages2312-2330
Publication date2024-11-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilosophical Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0951-5089 • E-ISSN: 1465-394X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09515089.2022.2140649
OpenAlexW4308432182
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited70

The question of whether free will exists has been debated extensively for centuries. Instead of debating this complex issue, recent work in psychology has sought to understand the consequences of beliefs in free will. That is, how are people’s behaviors influenced when they either believe or do not believe in free will? Amongst many outcomes, research has identified free will beliefs to influence achievement, perseverance, and aggressiveness. We believe that beliefs in free will could also exert influence on health behaviors. Health promotion from a psychological perspective has typically adopted social cognitive models to understand and predict health behaviors. We contend that free will beliefs could be included in these models to understand and change health behavior. We provide examples of how a popular social cognition theory, the theory of planned behavior, could be aligned with beliefs in free will. We suggest that the relationship between free will beliefs and theory constructs (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, intention) could be positive in health enhancing behaviors and negative in health risk behaviors. Experimentally testing these relationships is needed in future research. This may provide further insights into the consequences of free will and contribute to the explanation of health behavior

Behavior change · Cognition · Epistemology · Free will · Health behavior · Health promotion · Public health · Social cognition · Social cognitive theory · Theory of planned behavior · Free Will and Agency · Medicine · Psychology · Psychology of Social Influence · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Social Psychology

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