title: The role of feedback in the process of health behavior change.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To offer a taxonomy of types of feedback and describe potential mechanisms of action particularly in the area of addictive behaviors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Reviewed the literature to examine support for types-Generic, Targeted, and Personalized-and for mechanisms of feedback.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although it is not clear how it works, feedback is thought to offer important information, to create a sense of caring and helping relationship, to reach more directly decisional considerations, to increase engagement in the materials, to increase motivation, or to provide social comparison and norms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Avenues for future research in search of the most effective manner of using feedback to promote health behavior change are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore 21250, USA. diclemen@umbc.edu
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: DiClemente
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Marinilli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Bellino
mesh_terms: D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D002965:Classification; D005246:Feedback; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education / Q000145:classification*; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012309:Risk-Taking