# Mental Model: Stages of Change


A useful mental model for reasoning about behavior change is the
Transtheoretical model -- sometimes also known as the "Stages of Change" model.

This model describes the phases of human behavior change:

> -   Precontemplation ("not ready") – "People are not intending to take action
>     in the foreseeable future, and can be unaware that their behaviour is
>     problematic"
> -   Contemplation ("getting ready") – "People are beginning to recognize that
>     their behaviour is problematic, and start to look at the pros and cons of
>     their continued actions"
> -   Preparation ("ready") – "People are intending to take action in the
>     immediate future, and may begin taking small steps toward behaviour
>     change"
> -   Action – "People have made specific overt modifications in modifying their
>     problem behaviour or in acquiring new healthy behaviours"
> -   Maintenance – "People have been able to sustain action for at least six
>     months and are working to prevent relapse"
> -   Termination – "Individuals have zero temptation and they are sure they
>     will not return to their old unhealthy habit as a way of coping"
>
>     Source:
>     [Transtheoretical Model - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transtheoretical_model)

From this description, you can tell that the model is framed for decisions of
the form "stop doing something bad" -- e.g. smoking cessation. However, it's
also applicable to more value-neutral changes, such as moving between cities,
switching jobs, etc.

My favorite aspect of the transtheoretical model is its separation of
"precontemplation", "contemplation", and "preparation" as distinct phases. I'll
describe by way of contrast to a more naive model of change. An intuitive
(though, I'd argue, incorrect) model of behavior change is the two step process
of "decide" and "act". That is, you consciously become aware of a decision that
needs to me made, your brain crunches through the aspects of a decision, leading
to an outcome that you act upon. "Decide and act" is not what most people do for
important decisions, and is rarely successful for behavior change. Perhaps for
trivial decisions (what shirt to wear today, what to have for breakfast, etc.),
"decide and act" is a close-enough approximation. For bigger decisions or more
radical life-altering changes, I think the addition of "preconcemplation" and
"contemplation" to the model is significant.

![](https://benjamincongdon.me/blog/2022/06/16/Mental-Model-Stages-of-Change/decide_and_act.excalidraw.png)

"Precontemplation" is the subconscious process of realizing that a change needs
to be made at all. "Contemplation" is the conscious realization that a change is
necessary. Only then do we actually get to "preparation" -- choosing what to
actually do.

![](https://benjamincongdon.me/blog/2022/06/16/Mental-Model-Stages-of-Change/contemplation.excalidraw.png)

"Decide and act" presupposes the necessity of the decision. The transtheoretical
model acknowledges that _deciding to decide_ is part of the whole process -- and
starts subconsciously. Furthermore, the separation of "contemplation" and
"preparation" acknowledges that it's OK to separate _deciding to decide_ from
the _contents of the decision_.

Consider the example of deciding to move to a new city. _Precontemplation_ gets
you to the point of realizing that there's something about your current location
that you dislike, or something about another city that has begun to appeal to
you. _Contemplation_ is the conscious decision around "is it worth uprooting my
life to go to another city?" _Preparation_ gets into the logistics of decision:
which city, when to move, do you need to look for a new job in that city, etc.
_Action_ is renting a moving van, packing up your things, signing a lease in the
new city. _Maintenance_ is establishing new habits in the new city and settling
in.

Note that the process can end at (roughly) any phase: precontemplation could end
with you finding something in your current city that appeals to you enough
subconsciously to put the unease at bay; contemplation or preparation could
result in you realizing that moving is infeasible, for one reason or another.
And so on.

The process can also return to previous phases. The model calls this "relapse"
-- the return from the "action" or "maintenance" phase to a previous phase. This
occurs frequently in less "sticky" examples than moving cities -- e.g. quitting
a diet plan, giving up on an exercise schedule, resuming smoking after
attempting cessation.

![](https://benjamincongdon.me/blog/2022/06/16/Mental-Model-Stages-of-Change/relapse.excalidraw.png)

One failure mode I find interesting is premature _preparation_. "Decide and
act", as mentioned earlier, presupposes the necessity of the decision. "Decide
and act" is essentially premature _preparation_. We skipped the contemplation
phases, and jumped right to "make a decision". Without adequate _contemplation_,
_preparation_ often leads to decisions of the form "I need to do something; This
is something; I should do this". This is not a great algorithm for quality
decisions.

_Contemplation_ builds an internal justification for the behavior change, making
it easy to follow through with the _action_ phase. In
_precontemplation/contemplation_, we develop a "why" for making a change;
_preparation_ is merely the "how". Jumping to _preparation_ can be more
comfortable, since it feels more immediately tangible, but has the failure mode
of flailing decisions that don't stick.

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Cover Image: Central Park, NYC