James O. Prochaska is a Professor of Psychology and director of the Cancer Prevention Research Center at the University of Rhode Island

University of Rhode Island

The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...

 and developer of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change

Transtheoretical Model

The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change assesses an individual's readiness to act on a new healthier behavior, and provides strategies, or processes of change to guide the individual through the stages of change to action and maintenance....

 beginning in 1977. Prochaska earned his B.A. in Psychology at Wayne State University

Wayne State University

Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...

in 1964, followed by his M.A. (1967) and Ph.D. Degrees (1969) both at Wayne State. He is the author or co-author of over 250 publications on the dynamics of behavioral change - most of which defend the TTM.

Selected publications

• Prochaska, J.O. and DiClemente, C.C. (1984). The transtheoretical approach: Crossing the traditional boundaries of therapy. Melbourne, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company.
• Prochaska, J.O., Norcross, J.C. & DiClemente, C.C. (1994). Changing for Good. New York: Morrow. ISBN 0688112633
• Prochaska, J. O., & Norcross, J. C. (2006). Systems of psychotherapy: A transtheoretical analysis (Sixth Edition) Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks-Cole. ISBN 9780495601876
• His scientific publications list in google scholar.