PSYCHOLOGY, HEALTH PROMOTION AND AESTHEMIOLOGY .1. SOCIAL COGNITION MODELS AS A FRAMEWORK FOR HEALTH PROMOTION - NECESSARY, BUT NOT SUFFICIENT

Much of health promotion is premised on the notion that health-related behaviours are under individual control, and strongly influenced by intra-psychic factors, including knowledge and attitudes. The emphasis placed on such factors has led to a neglect of the social and material context in which the individual is situated. This paper describes a number of psychological theories which have influenced health promotion, and suggests ways in which a wider set of psychological theories and methods, which take into account social and material factors, may more usefully inform health promotion initiatives.