Social Cognitive Theory. (Bandura 1995)

Key aspects of this theory are: Reciprocal Determinism — Describes the way in which an individual, their environment and behaviour continuously interact and influence each other (eg if a significant number of people in a given environment are non-smokers and are assertive about their desire to restrict smoking in that environment it can influence a smoker to modify their behaviour). Outcome Expectancies — the individual’s perception of whether an action will lead to a particular outcome (eg If I stop smoking I will reduce my risk of heart disease). Self-Efficacy — whether people believe they can change. Self-efficacy is proposed as the most important pre-requisite for behaviour change.