In the COM-B model, which statement accurately describes how capability, opportunity, and motivation interact to produce behavior?

• A. Behavior arises when capability and opportunity enable motivation to act
• B. Behavior arises from motivation alone
• C. Behavior arises only when all three are present and equal
• D. Behavior arises independently of capability

Answer: (B)

In the COM-B model, behavior arises from the dynamic interaction of three factors: capability, opportunity, and motivation. Capability covers the skills and knowledge needed to perform the behavior. Opportunity includes the external conditions, such as the physical environment and social support, that make the behavior possible. Motivation encompasses the reflective plans and evaluations as well as automatic desires and impulses that drive action. The model holds that you need the right combination of all three for behavior to occur: even strong motivation may not lead to action if capability or opportunity is missing, and having capability and opportunity without sufficient motivation won’t produce the behavior. This is why behavior is best described as the product of how capability, opportunity, and motivation work together, not motivation alone.