Self-efficacy is a potent and consistent construct that is relevant to performance and motivation. It has been used as a model of motivation in several applied contexts such as in health, education, occupation and other settings. Self-efficacy relates to the individual belief that one can perform a particular task or act in a certain way and exercise control over events (Sawyer, Peters, & Willis, 2013). This means it can be thought of as an aspect of hope or optimism. This is a critical determinant of behavioral change and thus self-efficacy and behavioral control are seen as synonymous constructs. Self-efficacy works by influencing the challenges that an individual takes on in addition to determining how high they set goals. Individuals with strong self-efficacy will often select more challenging and ambitious goals when it comes to behavioral change in which the focus is on opportunities rather than obstacles.
The concept of behavioral change associated with self-efficacy is based on the view that behavior change occurs in stages. The transtheoretical model is useful when it comes to understanding the behavior change process. The model proposes behavior change characterized by six stages, including the pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and termination stages. This can be interpreted as a process in which awareness of the issue, thinking about the pros and cons of changing behavior, committing and planning to change behavior, active involvement in the change and maintaining behavior change are incorporated. This means that intention and readiness as well as initiatives to motivate and foster positive attitudes and individual control are key elements in self-efficacy in relation to behavior change.
Research has shown that self-efficacy beliefs have a direct influence on behavioral intentions and behavior, usually mediated by behavioral intentions (Orji, Vassileva, & Mandryk, 2012). From a practical perspective, individuals on the path of behavior change often act in ways that can help them achieve goals that are rather important to them. This is an important consideration when it comes to self-efficacy and can be explained by the theory of planned behavior. The theory assumes that individuals are reasonable and will logically use information to adopt behavior - they focus on the outcome of their actions before making the decision to engage in the action or behavior (Vo & Bogg, 2015). This means that the intention to act in a certain way is assessed based on the attitude of the individual towards the behavior and the perception of the extent to which one can control his behavior. In addition, the social pressure to conform also helps the individuals to know how and why or why not to follow a certain behavioral path. For example, when an individual decides to quit alcohol, he or she must believe that alcohol is bad for his health and thus develops the intention to choose a healthy life which is based on the understanding that the society encourages a healthy life. Therefore, the intention comes to life and the healthy lifestyle motivates the person to have a change of behavior. This also comes after an intervention in which the focus of the person will be directed to his or her inner strengths so that control over the behavior is achieved.
References
Orji, R., Vassileva, J., & Mandryk, R. (2012). Towards An Effective Health Interventions Design: An Extension of the Health Belief Model. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 4(3), e9.
Phan, H. P. (2013). The Capitalization of Personal Self-Efficacy: Yields for Practices and Research Development. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 3(1), 72-87.
Sawyer, C., Peters, M. L., & Willis, J. (2013). Self-Efficacy of Beginning Counselors to Counsel Clients in Crisis. Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 5(2), 30-43.
Vo, P. T., & Bogg, T. (2015). Testing Theory of Planned Behavior and Neo-Socioanalytic Theory models of trait activity, industriousness, exercise social cognitions, exercise intentions, and physical activity in a representative U.S. sample. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(1114).
