Suzanne wants to lose 20 pounds before her honeymoon to Hawaii. Although she realizes that being thinner will make her feel stronger and healthier, she has a weakness for ice cream. She's not sure that she will be able to give up the short-term pleasure of indulging in an ice cream cone for dessert today in exchange for the long-term benefits of weight loss. Suzanne appears to be in which of the following stages of change?
a) Maintenance
b) Contemplation
c) Preparation / Determination
d) Action / Willpower

In 1977, the transtheoretical model of behavior change was developed. It is a result of analysis and application of several psychotherapy theories. Its purpose is to assess someone's readiness to change an unhealthy behavior, trading it for a healthier one. The stages are:

1. Precontemplation

2. Contemplation

3. Preparation

4. Action

5. Maintenance

6. Termination

In the contemplation stage, the person is getting ready to change. They are able to see how their current behavior can be harmful, and consider the pros and cons of making the change. However, they are not yet prepared, taking small steps in order to begin the change. That would be the preparation stage.

As we can see, Suzanne is not taking steps yet, thus she is not in the preparation stage. She has already gone past the stage of precontemplation, in which she is not ready at all and doesn't even understand how her behavior is making her unhealthy. Suzanne can see the pros and cons of a change - she would feel stronger and healthier (pro) but would have to resist temptation (con). She is clearly considering change as a possibility, but is not thoroughly ready to start doing it. Therefore, she is in the contemplation stage.