The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

1197 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social cognitive theory argues that

According to the World Health Organization over 2.8 million Americans die each year as a result of being overweight or obese (2014). While it is commonly accepted that healthy eating can combat obesity, adopting and maintaining healthy eating behavior remains complex (Schwazer et al, 1994). Many theories of health behavior change have been developed in order to identify factors that affect and predict the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors. Among these theories is the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). This theory asserts that behavior is a product of environment, behavior, and person factors, especially cognition. Under the SCT umbrella is Self-efficacy Theory (SET), which claims that one’s beliefs concerning their ability to initiate difficult behavior (such as healthy eating) predicts their likelihood of accomplishing such behaviors. SE for healthy eating is influenced by the personal meaning of healthy eating, which is most commonly conceptualized as the idea of balanced eating from each of the four food groups (Browley & Strachan, 2009). College is commonly associated with weight gain, as shown by the ubiquitous nature of the “freshman fifteen”. According to the CDC college age men have a higher prevalence of hypertension than women (2010). Nutritional studies of college student’s dietary profiles show that college students frequently partake in unhealthy …show more content…

This app, available to both android and apple users, provides consumers with daily calorie intake and nutritional information. The following are tracked using the app: carbohydrates, protein, fiber, sugar, fats, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, and essential vitamins. The app creates daily goals for calorie intake and nutrient consumption that are determined based on a user’s current weight and goal

Show More
Related

  • Barbara Kingsolver Called Home

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...College students are the next generation of food consumers just starting to purchase and prepare their own food, setting purchasing habits that will follow them into their lives as they start their own careers. These habits will shape what food is in demand, and therefore what food is produced. Not only do college students hold financial power over the future economy, but they must make the decision of whether to become the next unhealthy generation, that will also indoctrinate their children to accept the level of food quality that is currently labeled as junk food as a standard level quality of food.

    Read More

  • Transitioning to College: The Freshman 15

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    One factor of the freshman 15 is the student’s living environment. Students living on campus in residence halls are more prone to weight gain than students living at home with their parents or off campus (Provencher et al., 2009). This is due to the availability of food on campus at various universities that studies were held. While students living at home with their parents often have home cooked meals, often dining halls in college campuses serve food with an all-you-can eat buffet style, where students are free to eat as much as they like. Students living away from ...

    Read More

  • The Freshman 15

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    Experts who study the concept of the “Freshman 15” are deeply divided in their findings. Some downplay the significance of the problem of freshman weight gain, basing their findings only on the average weight gain among college students. In a study done by the Journal of American College Health, found that of the 59 percent of students who gained weight the average increase was only 4.6 pounds. They concluded their study by stating that they believed the Freshman 15 is a myth, based upon that premise (Graham, and Jones). The truth is that fifty-nine percent of the students studied did gain weight, and not all students are going to gain exactly fifteen pounds. Other experts do however believe that weight gain among college freshman is a very serious problem. Registered dietitian Ann Selkowitz Litt recently authored, “The College Students Guide to Eating Well on Campus,” which is designed to help college students make the right eating choices. On an online chat with several college students on USA Today’s website she stated that “College students now are gaining the "freshman 20" or "freshman 25.” She blames the growing problem on erratic eating habits, the drinking large quantities of alcoh...

    Read More

  • Obesity: Serving Sizes Are Growing in America

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    With an unlimited meal plan and buffet-style meals, do we students know how big our portions should be?  If we are accustomed to being served super-sized portions, we might not realize when we are serving ourselves over-sized portions in our dining halls. In fact, researchers have found that increased portion size is an even greater problem in cafeteria settings like ours, noting a positive association between larger food receptacles and increased consumption(2).  A correlational study at Cornell found significant weight gain in freshmen during the first twelve weeks of school and identified that both the “all-you-can-eat” dining hall style and student snacking on “junk-food” were key variables explaining a positive linear relationship with weight gai...

    Read More

  • Social Cognitive Theory

    2142 Words  | 5 Pages

    Theoretical perspectives in the study of human behavior can easily be applied to cases in social work practice. The mental health field in particular lends itself to the application of different human behavior theories. Specifically, depression can be viewed through the lens of Social Cognitive Theory, or Social Cognitive Learning. There is one case of a woman with depression, whose name will be changed, that social cognitive theory can be applied to. Cheryl is a 58 year old woman who has been diagnosed with Major depressive disorder. She has had this diagnosis since she was 17 years old. Many of her symptoms and experiences can be viewed or explained in terms of social cognitive theory.

    Read More

  • Health Belief Model: Condoms and Sexual Risk

    1459 Words  | 3 Pages

    The key concept of the health belief model includes threat perception (perceived threat), behavioral evaluation, self-efficacy and other variables. The threat perception has very great relevance in health-related behaviors. This perception are measured by perceived susceptibility (the beliefs about the likelihood of contacting a disease) and perceived severity (the feeling about the seriousness of contacting an illness and leaving it untreated). The behavioral evaluation is assessed by the levels of perceived benefits (the positive effects to be expected), perceived barriers (potential negative aspects of a health behavior), and cues to action (the strategies to activated one’s readiness). The self-efficacy key concept was not originally included in of the health belief model, and it was just added in 1998 to look at a person’s belief in his/her ability to take action in order to make a health related change. The other variables that are also the key concepts of the model include diverse demography, sociopsychology, education, and structure. These factors are variable from one to another and indirectly influence an individual’s health-related behavior because the factors influence the perception...

    Read More

  • Theory: Systems Theory And Cognitive Behavioral Theory

    1805 Words  | 4 Pages

    Theory has been defined as, “an organized set of assumptions, beliefs, or ideas about particular phenomena in the world (Teater, 2015).” Theory is used to understand and explain possible and perceived instances, behaviors and outcomes (Teater, 2015). Social workers use theory in order to understand, as well as, introduce interventions and solutions to their client’s individual situation. It is important for students entering into the social work profession to have a base knowledge of theories, with basic understanding of their similarities and differences to appropriately apply theory in practice. The theories which will be focused on in this paper include Systems Theory and Cognitive Behavioral Theory.

    Read More

  • Characteristics of a Good College Student

    1176 Words  | 3 Pages

    My name is Joshua I am a 20-year-old college sophomore at Georgia Perimeter College. I eat very well, which I have found is in complete contrast with my college peers. According to the National Health Awareness, has an overall average 30% for US colleges and Universities college students tend to skip one meal a day. Most college students don't even know what a healthy diet is, and a large percentage of students who are aware of proper nutrition choose to ignore it. One must have a good diet, learn to plan a good diet by sticking to a consistent routine, and stay away from fast food diet.

    Read More

  • Social Cognition Model Essay

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    Human behavior is a vital component in the sustainment of health and the prevention of illness. For some decades now there has been an increasing attention to the contribution of psychological and social components to improving and changing health. Health specialists have used the help of models of behavior change in order to reduce health risks. Through all these years psychosocial models have been a leading influence in predicting and explaining health behaviors. The most accustomed are the social cognition models. A central principle of social cognition is that people’s social behavior is comprehended by examining their perceptions about their own behaviour

    Read More

  • The Smart Goal Of The Obesity Program

    1910 Words  | 4 Pages

    The SMART goal of the obesity program is to reduce the obese population in Pitt County by creating a healthier diet program. Different objectives will be needed in order to reach this goal. The first objective is that from July 2016 through December 2016 100 community members will participate in the health department’s health promotion activities. This objective aligns with the reinforcement construct of the Social Cognitive Theory. By repeatedly participating in the activities, the 100 community members will be rewarded with the knowledge they receive and also motivation to change their behavior. By having an enjoyable time, they will be rewarded and want to keep coming back to the activities. The second objective is that following the 6-month duration; the majority of the participants will lose 2-10% of their original body weight by changing to a healthier diet. The reason the participants need to lose 2-10% of their body weight is to either prevent or reduce the chances of gaining other health diseases associated with obesity, including coronary artery disease and Type 2 Diabetes. This objective aligns with the self-efficacy construct. By losing a little bit of body fat, the participants will believe in their ability to lose weight, and continue to do so. The third objective is that on June 17 and June 24, informational brochures will be distributed to the community members to create awareness and reminders to join the obesity program, and gain knowledge about the health condition of obesity. This objective deals with the behavioral capability construct of the Social Cognitive Theory because the participants will gain the knowledge and skills needed to change their behavior through the brochures.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Eating Healthy In A College Student Essay

    2034 Words  | 5 Pages

    Through life we have many different stages to where we are either settling down for a nice home cooked meal or we are constantly on the go, running around our hectic lives, eating very unhealthy foods. Especially in our college years, students are always on the go running to and from class grabbing a burger and fries from a campus restaurant or eating the microwaveable foods like ramen. Many people try to eat healthy, but always succumb to the stereotype that eating healthy is expensive and takes too much time. This is a common misconception because there are ways in which anyone can eat healthy and on a budget as long as they eat proper portions, eat the right kind of foods, and excessive.

    Read More

  • Social Cognitive Theory

    1585 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to the Social Cognitive Theory, changing a behavior is a function of individual characteristics: a person’s sense of self efficacy about the new behavior, their confidence and overcoming barriers. The person’s behavioral capability, expectations and expectancies, their level of self-control and emotional coping ability; environmental factors: the social and physical environment surrounding individuals. The behavior of others (“modeling”) and the consequences of that behavior, which result in vicarious learning. The situation in which the behavior takes place, and perceptions of the situation by individuals. Reinforcements (negative or positive) that are given to individuals in response to the behavior; the interactive process of reciprocal determinism where a person acts based on individual factors and social/environmental cues, receives a response from that environment, adjust behavior, acts again and so on (Edberg, 2015). Ensuring that patients receive social skills training, self-efficacy boost, an educational component and vicarious learning is in alignment with the social cognitive theory. Unfortunately, there are certain regions that suffer from health and socioeconomic disparities that lead to extraordinarily poor health outcomes that would benefit from the implementation of the social cognitive

    Read More

  • Social Cognitive Theory And Trait Theory

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    Personality can be defined as an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting. Many personality theorists have put forward claims as to where personality is derived from and how it develops throughout an individual’s life. The two main personality theories this essay will be focusing on is the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1986) and the Trait Theory – Five Factor Theory (FFT) (McCrae and Costa, 1995). The SCT allocates a central role to cognitive, observational learning and self-regulatory processes (Bandura, 1986). An individual’s personality develops through experiences with their sociocultural environment. Whereas the Trait Theory proposes that all individuals are predisposed with five traits (Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness and Neuroticism) which determines our personality. This theory also puts forward that personality is stable and cannot change as it’s biologically determined.

    Read More

  • Avoid Becoming Fat

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    College; it can be a scary, yet exciting journey. While intimating, it can provide a chance to get out of one’s comfort zone, and through the experiences one can be slowly pulled out of their hometown bubble. For example, living with a new roommate, navigating through campus, or dealing with time management all contribute to a challenging adjustment. However, one of the biggest concerns college students experience is the struggle of maintaining one’s health. While staying fit throughout college is an arduous and demanding task, it is vital for students to be conscious of the dangers of inadequate fitness and personal wellbeing. The problem of poor health in college students can be overcome by the general

    Read More

  • The Unhealthy Diet of College Students

    1984 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...omething to go. I found out that college student’s want foods that are quick, taste good, and cheap. The limitation to my research was that I only passed out ten surveys all at the cafeteria. Perhaps if I did more or passed them out at a different location I might have gotten different results. I also only interviewed two people, and a larger sample might have changed my results. Also only observing my roommates shopping might have limited me to what I always eat, other college students might buy healthier foods when they shop. Take a minute now and think about what you eat in an average day and see if you fall into the categories of eating unhealthy with the majority of college students. Next time you buy something to eat take a second and look what’s in it and think to yourself. Should I be eating this? Or is there something healthier that I could be eating?

    Read More

More about The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

Open Document