Behavioral Goals for the Future
Developing SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) behavioral goals and objectives.
It might be useful to think about goals as being broader than objectives. It is essential that clear objectives are set and progress is monitored against them. A number of objectives can be developed to achieve an individual aim or goal.
Objectives can be divided into:
Cognitive objectives – focused on learning, knowledge and beliefs. Interventions may be directed at changing the target audience’s knowledge of a particular issue, such as the benefits of early cancer screening.
Affective Objectives – focused on feelings and emotions. Recent campaigns have aimed to help people appreciate the negative impact of smoking on babies and children, and therefore on the feelings of adults.
Conative – focused on actual behavior (or doing). Although intermediary objectives may be cognitive or affective in nature, the primary objectives of social marketing interventions need to be conative, that is, they are ultimately about influencing and sustaining positive behavior.
It might be useful to think about goals as being broader than objectives. It is essential that clear objectives are set and progress is monitored against them. A number of objectives can be developed to achieve an individual aim or goal.
Objectives can be divided into:
Cognitive objectives – focused on learning, knowledge and beliefs. Interventions may be directed at changing the target audience’s knowledge of a particular issue, such as the benefits of early cancer screening.
Affective Objectives – focused on feelings and emotions. Recent campaigns have aimed to help people appreciate the negative impact of smoking on babies and children, and therefore on the feelings of adults.
Conative – focused on actual behavior (or doing). Although intermediary objectives may be cognitive or affective in nature, the primary objectives of social marketing interventions need to be conative, that is, they are ultimately about influencing and sustaining positive behavior.