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The Drum Beat 605 - Soul City's Theory of Social and Behaviour Change

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"Effective social and behavior change communication interventions tend to be based on sound theory (often a range of theories or models...) that grounds the strategic framework whilst allowing enough flexibility to allow implementation in different contexts."


 




This issue of The Drum Beat looks deeper into a paper that describes the social and behaviour change model that shapes the work of one of The CI's Partners: the South Africa-based Soul City Institute for Health & Development Communication.

Soul City utilises the strategy of education-entertainment ("edutainment") in an effort to achieve real, measurable social change for individuals and communities in South Africa, Southern Africa, and Africa, particularly as far as HIV prevention and violence reduction via alcohol control are concerned. The tools of their trade are mass media like television (e.g., Soul Buddyz - to read more, click here), social mobilisation in the form of community-based clubs for children, and advocacy via different interventions. The paper explores how theory informs all of Soul City's strategies and activities.

Below please find excerpted core points from the paper as well as further summaries and links that are intended to spark further thinking about Soul City's social and behaviour change model.

For a summary of the paper and access to the full paper, please click here.


 



THE ESSENCE: SOUL CITY AND THEORY


"Soul City understands that theories and models are developed in the context of specific behaviour and that a single generic theory will not explain all behaviours in all contexts equally well. Thus in the context of broader health promotion- and societal-level frameworks (where macro-societal factors are understood to shape individual behaviour from higher levels of scale), the main components of Soul City's theory of social and behaviour change comprise the dynamic integration of a number of models of behaviour and theories of change."


These theories include:

1.    Bandura's Theory of Social Learning, which states that people learn through observation, imitation, and modeling. Self-efficacy influences behaviour in that people are more likely to engage in certain behaviours when they believe they are capable of successfully modeling the behaviour.

2.    Lewin's Theory of Change, which "adds the role of emotion, dialogue and debate to an understanding of how behaviour change takes place: behaviour (often resistant to change) is lifted up for scrutiny (sometimes through an 'emotional stir-up') and reconfigured through a process of discursive elaboration (dialogue and debate) of new and preferable alternatives."

  • For more on Lewin's Theory of Change (with an accompanying video), click here.

3.    Paulo Freire's concept of critical consciousness, which emphasises awareness-raising and the exposure of social, economic, and political contradictions, together with taking action (individually and/or collectively) against "the oppressive elements of society". The notion of learning-through-action-and-reflection underlies Soul City's community-based work. "As in the case of individual behaviour, collective efficacy is important in that communities are more likely to take action if they believe their action will make a difference."

4.    Social Identity Theory, which presents an explanatory account of the importance of social norms in determining behaviour. "Social identification with a reference group is a key component of identity." "Social identity" refers to the individual's knowledge that he or she belongs to certain social groups and that this group membership has emotional significance and value. "Positive social identity keeps groups together and at the same time regulates individual behaviour."

5.    Cialdini's Focus Theory of Normative Conduct, which elaborates on the role of norms in determining behaviour. The theory distinguishes between descriptive and injunctive norms. "How a person responds to a descriptive or injunctive norm when they contradict each other is determined by which kind of norm is salient (or in focus) at the time. The saliency of the norm is influenced by situational factors such as: the social group around the person; the importance of the action; and the circumstances which accompany the situation."

6.    Information-Motivation-Behaviour-Skills model, which is a learning-based model that acknowledges the role of social norms and peer modeling, and highlights knowledge, attitudes, generic self efficacy, and instrumental behavioural skills in bringing about behaviour change.

7.    Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour, which states that the 3 most important factors determining the probability of behaviour are habit, intention, and facilitating conditions. The theory further explains the role of beliefs, anticipated outcomes, norms, roles, self-concept, emotions, and attitudes in determining behaviour.

8.    Gibbons and Gerard's Prototype/Willingness Model, which introduces the concepts of "risk images" and "social comparison" and has been used to understand the process whereby young people in particular move from initial risky behaviours (based on "behavioural willingness") to established risky behaviours (based on "behavioural intention").

9.    A Complexity Thinking Approach, whereby behaviour is seen as the product of interactions between components of a whole system. The concept is that these interactions create effects (often unforeseen) which the components could not have generated singly (i.e. the whole is more than the sum of its parts). "Informed by an understanding of Complexity Theory, Soul City's interventions aim to facilitate a process whereby options and solutions peculiar to a particular context can emerge. Thus through advocacy, social mobilization and media, Soul City facilitates the capacity to learn and models the direction of change whilst addressing many of the barriers to change."



 




Please find more information relevant to Soul City's Theory of Social and Behaviour Change as follows:

 



 




For a summary of the Soul City paper and access to the full paper, please click here.


 




This issue of The Drum Beat was written by Kier Olsen DeVries.


 




The Editor of The Drum Beat is Kier Olsen DeVries.

Please send additional project, evaluation, strategic thinking, and materials information on communication for development at any time. Send to drumbeat@comminit.com

The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.

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