Self efficacy and locus of control

The concept of self-efficacy was developed by Dr. Albert Bandura. Self-efficacy refers to the perception that one can perform a certain action successfully. More and more research is demonstrating that self-efficacy is associated with better social and health outcomes. If we believe that we can successfully carry out an action , we are more likely to be successful. More interesting is that people can be trained to revise their thinking to develop greater self-efficacy.

A related concept is locus of control. We do better if we think we can exert some measure of control in a situation. This also has implications improving mental and physical health.

Improvement in self-efficacy can be accomplished through several strategies. One example is the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). When an event results in negative and counterproductive thoughts and beliefs, the thoughts or beliefs can be examined and countered with more realistic or positive thoughts. For example, if we wake up with a headache and realize, one hour later that we still have it, thinking “I’m never going to get rid of the headache” is unlikely to be true for almost any person. Of course, if it is unusual, extremely severe, or has been around for days, it would be best to seek medical attention. But for some people these headaches occur regularly, and have been discussed with doctors. Also, to say to ourselves, “I can’t take it” is also not true and not useful. In CBT, the adverse event, the automatic thought, and countering thought are written down. A countering thought for the headache might be that, “My headaches have always gone within a few hours. This is inconvenient, but I can manage.” The countering thought is more true and more useful than the initial thought.

Self-efficacy and locus of control are important in changing habits for the better. How we feel about our efforts, especially after setbacks, has a role in our success. As alluded to above, CBT can be useful in the process of change. CBT has been used in coping with chronic diseases, anxiety, depression, and other conditions. See this posting on depression, which discusses CBT and follow the links there to InfraPsych site, which has an excellent description of CBT. CBT, in the context of changing habits, can be seen as a technique for dealing with counter-productive thoughts and feelings that could sabotage efforts to develop healthier habits.

See the postings on depression, and "More on depression," which discuss CBT and follow the links there to the InfraPsych site, which has an excellent description of CBT and how to do it.