Expectations and health

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511543579.020

Expectations and health

from Psychology, health and illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2014

Edited by

John Weinman and

James E. Maddux: Affiliation:
George Mason University
Susan Ayers: Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Andrew Baum: Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Chris McManus: Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital Medical School
Stanton Newman: Affiliation:
University College and Middlesex School of Medicine
Kenneth Wallston: Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
John Weinman: Affiliation:
United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas's
Robert West: Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London

Book contents

Get access

Summary

The major health care challenge in the twenty-first century, as it was at the close of the twentieth century, will be motivating people to make changes in their own behaviour in ways that reduce the risk of health and medical problems and enhance health. These motivational efforts must consist not only of educating people about the positive and negative effects of various behaviours but also, and perhaps more importantly, persuading people that they indeed can change their behaviour and teaching them the skills for doing so. For this reason, understanding self-regulation – the capacity of people to think about the future, set goals, develop plans to attain these goals, and regulate their own behaviour based on these goals and plans – will be crucial to solving the health and medical problems of the twenty-first century (see ‘Health-related behaviours’).

Self-regulation consists of several key components, including setting goals, developing plans, monitoring progress towards goals and modifying one's plans and behaviours in reaction to perceived progress towards one's goals. At the heart of the ability to self-regulate is the ability to develop expectancies – to use past experience and knowledge to form beliefs about and predict future events (Olson et al., 1996). The expectancy construct is among the most thoroughly investigated constructs in psychology. Expectancies gained importance with the development of social learning theory, as originally developed by Rotter (1954) (see also Woodward, 1982).

Type: Chapter
Information: Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine , pp. 87 - 92

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511543579.020 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AbuSabha, R. & Achterberg, C. (1997). Review of self-efficacy and locus of control for nutrition- and health-related behavior. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 97, 1122–33.Google Scholar

Ajzen, I. (1988). Attitudes, personality, and behavior. Chicago: Dorsey Press.

Ajzen, I. & Madden, T. J. (1986). Prediction of goal-directed behavior: attitudes, intentions, and perceived behavioral control. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 22, 453–74.Google Scholar

Baker, S. L. & Kirsch, I. (1991). Cognitive mediators of pain perception and tolerance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 504–10.Google Scholar

Bandura, A. (1977). Self efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavior change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.Google Scholar

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. New York: Prenctice-Hall.

Bandura, A. (1990). Some reflections on reflections. Psychological Inquiry, 1, 101–5.Google Scholar

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: the exercise of control. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Bandura, A. (2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Education and Behavior, 31(2), 143–64.Google Scholar

Baum, W. M. & Heath, J. L. (1992). Behavioral explanations and intentional explanations in psychology. American Psychologist, 47, 1312–17.Google Scholar

Bolles, R. C. (1972). Reinforcement, expectancy, and learning. Psychological Review, 79(5), 394–409.Google Scholar

Bryan, A. D., Aiken, L. S. & West, S. G. (1997). Young women's condom use: the influence of acceptance of sexuality, control over the sexual encounter, and perceived susceptibility to common STDs. Health Psychology, 16, 468–79.Google Scholar

Dawson, K. A. & Brawley, L. R. (2000). Examining the relationship between exercise goals, self-efficacy, and overt behavior with beginning exercisers. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 315.Google Scholar

Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (1995). Human autonomy: the basis for true self-esteem. In Kernis, M. H. (Ed.). Efficacy, agency, and self-esteem (pp. 31–49). New York: Plenum.

Dzewaltowski, D. A., Noble, J. M. & Shaw, J. M. (1990). Physical activity participation: social cognitive theory versus the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 12, 388–405.Google Scholar

Eagly, A. H. & Chaiken, S. (1993). The psychology of attitudes. New York:Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovitch.

Ewart, C.K. (1995). Self-efficacy and recovery from heart attack: implications for a social-cognitive analysis of exercise and emotion. In Maddux, J. E. (Ed.). Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment: theory, research, and application (pp. 203–26). New York: Plenum.

Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: an introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Heckhausen, H. (1977). Achievement motivation and its constructs: a cognitive model. Motivation and Emotion, 1, 283–329.Google Scholar

Holman, H. R. & Lorig, K. (1992). Perceived self-efficacy in self-management of chronic disease. In Schwarzer, R. (Ed.). Self-efficacy: thought control of action (pp. 305–24). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.

Hsiao, E. T. & Thayer, R. E. (1998). Exercising for mood regulation: the importance of experience. Personality and Individual Differences, 24, 829–36.Google Scholar

Janz, N. K. & Becker, M. H. (1984). The Health Belief Model: a decade later. Health Education Quarterly, 11, 1–47.Google Scholar

Kirsch, I. (1985). Response expectancy as a determinant of experience and behavior. American Psychologist, 40, 1189–202.Google Scholar

Kirsch, I. (1995). Self-efficacy and outcome expectancies: a concluding commentary. In Maddux, J. E. (Ed.). Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment: theory, research and application (pp. 331–45). New York: Plenum Press.

Kirsch, I. (1999) (Ed.). How expectancies shape behavior. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Madden, T. J., Ellen, P. S. & Ajzen, I. (1992). A comparison of the theory of planned behavior and the theory of reasoned action. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1, 3–9.Google Scholar

Maddux, J. E. (1993). Social cognitive models of health and exercise behavior: an introduction and review of conceptual issues. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 5, 116–40.Google Scholar

Maddux, J. E., Brawley, L. & Boykin, A. (1995). Self-efficacy and healthy decision-making: protection, promotion, and detection. In Maddux, J.E. (Ed.). Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment. New York: Plenum Press.

Maddux, J. E., DuCharme, K. A. (1997). Behavioral intentions in the theories of health behavior. In Gochman, D. (Ed.). Handbook of health behavior research. New York: Plenum Press.

Maddux, J. E. & Gosselin, J. T. (2003). Self-efficacy. In Leary, M. R. & Tangney, J.P. (Eds.) Handbook of self and identify. New York: Guilford.

Maddux, J. E. & Rogers, R. W. (1983). Protection motivation and self-efficacy: a revised theory of fear appeals and attitude change. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 469–79.Google Scholar

Maddux, J. E. (1999). Expectancies and the social cognitive perspective: basic principles, processes, and variables. In Kirsch, I. (Ed.). How expectancies shape behavior (pp. 17–39). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

McClelland, D. C. (1985). How motives, skills, and values determine what people do. American Psychologist, 40(7), 812–25.Google Scholar

Mischel, W. (1973). Toward a cognitive social learning reconceptualization of personality. Psychological Review, 80(4), 252–84.Google Scholar

O'Leary, A. & Brown, S. (1995). Self-efficacy and the physiological stress response. In Maddux, J.E. (Ed.). Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment: theory, research and application (pp. 227–48). New York: Plenum.

Olson, J. M., Roese, N. J. & Zanna, M. P. (1996). Expectancies. In Higgins, E. T. & Kruglanski, A. W. (Eds.). Social psychology: handbook of basic principles (pp. 211–38).

Rescorla, R. A. (1987). A Pavlovian analysis of goal-directed behavior. American Psychologist, 42, 119–29.Google Scholar

Rogers, R. W. (1975). A protection motivation theory of fear appeals and attitude change. Journal of Psychology, 91, 93–114.Google Scholar

Rogers, R.W. & Prentice-Dunn, S. (1997). Protection motivation theory. In Gochman, D. S. (Ed.). Handbook of health behavior research: I: Personal and social determinants (pp. 113–32). New York: Plenum.

Rotter, J. B. (1954). Social learning and clinical psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Rotter, J. B. (1982). The development and application of social learning theory: selected papers. New York: Praeger.

Rotter, J. B. (1990). Internal versus external control of reinforcement: a case history of a variable. American Psychologist, 45(4), 489–93.Google Scholar

Rudolph, D. L. & McAuley, E. (1995). Self-efficacy and salivary cortisol responses to acute exercise in physically active and less active adults. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17, 206–13.Google Scholar

Samuels, S. M. & Gibb, R. W. (2002). Self-efficacy assessment and generalization in physical education courses. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 32, 1314–27.Google Scholar

Schifter, D. B. & Ajzen, I. (1985). Intention, perceived control, and weight loss: an application of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 843–51.Google Scholar

Schwarzer, R. (1992). Self-efficacy in the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors: theoretical approaches and a new model. In Schwarzer, R. (Ed.). Self-efficacy: thought control of action (pp. 217–44). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.

Sherer, M., Maddux, J. E., Mercandante, B.et al. (1982). The self-efficacy scale: construction and validation. Psychological Reports, 51, 633–71.Google Scholar

Strecher, V. J., Champion, V. L. & Rosenstock, I.M. (1997). The health belief model and health behavior. In Gochman, D. (Ed.). Handbook of health behavior research I: Personal and social determinants (pp. 71–92). New York: Plenum.

Tipton, R. M. & Worthington, E. L. (1984). The measurement of generalized self-efficacy: a study of construct validity. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48, 545–8.Google Scholar

Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. New York: Wiley.

Weinstein, N. D. (1988). Testing four competing theories of health-protective behavior. Health Psychology, 7, 324–33.Google Scholar

Weinstein, N. D. (1993). Testing four competing theories of health-protective behavior. Health Psychology, 12, 324–33.Google Scholar

Williams, S. L. (1995). Self-efficacy, anxiety, and phobic disorders. In Maddux, J. E. (Ed.). Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment: theory, research and application (pp. 69–107).

Woodward, W. R. (1982). The “discovery” of social behaviorism and social learning theory, 1870–1980. American Psychologist, 37, 396–410.Google Scholar

Book contents

Expectations and health

Summary

Access options

References

Save book to Kindle

Save book to Dropbox

Save book to Google Drive