The tri-component attitude model defines how people approach some products, phenomena, or actions. Its name suggests that the model consists of three elements, including affective, behavioral, and cognitive components. The affective element refers to what people feel about an issue. The behavioral one denotes how people respond to it, while the cognitive component reveals what people know. This information demonstrates that these three areas determine a person’s attitude to a specific concept or phenomenon.
When it comes to promoting a healthy lifestyle and regular physical exercise among people, one can state that the three components are essential. However, it seems reasonable to focus on the effective one to achieve the task above. The rationale behind this statement is that individuals tend to know that regular exercising leads to positive outcomes. However, this knowledge is not typically sufficient to promote the behavior, meaning that the cognitive component should not be targeted. The behavioral element is not the best choice because it is a common case when people start leading a healthy lifestyle and leave it sooner or later.
It happens because they do not have sufficient motivation. That is why it is reasonable to target the affective component to ensure that people like exercising. Fromel et al. have conducted a scholarly study to identify that when adolescents are satisfied with their physical activity, they tend to show better results. Even though this article focuses on adolescents, it is impossible to ignore the importance of motivation and the affective component brings it.
