Glossary
Reflective motivation
What is reflective motivation?
Reflective motivation comprises deliberate evaluations and plans that direct behavior. In COM-B it is distinguished from automatic motivational processes such as impulses and emotional reactions.
Reflective vs automatic motivation
Reflective motivation includes conscious evaluations such as “Can I do this?” and “Is it worth doing?” Automatic motivation includes processes such as impulses and emotional reactions. In COM-B, both interact with capability and opportunity. A plan alone does not establish that someone can carry it out.
- A belief about capability concerns whether someone thinks they can perform the action; it is often called self-efficacy.
- An outcome belief concerns what they expect the action to produce.
- A plan specifies the intended action, such as enrolling this week and attending on Tuesdays.
These are related but different: believing a class would be useful does not necessarily mean believing one can complete its assignments or forming a plan to attend.
Illustrative example
Someone evaluates the costs and benefits of attending an evening class and plans to enroll. Their eventual attendance still depends on the circumstances and competing actions. In this hypothetical case, confidence about completing the coursework is a capability belief, while expecting the course to improve a skill is an outcome belief.
Actual capability also matters: the person needs the prerequisite knowledge and the ability to complete the registration process. Opportunity includes an available place and a class time they can attend. An appealing alternative activity might compete with the plan, but a cancelled bus or a full class can also prevent attendance. Failure to attend does not, by itself, show that an impulse defeated a conscious intention.
Framework source
The original Behaviour Change Wheel paper provides this definition and the relationships between categories.