Page 179 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals
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future consequences or outcomes in positive thoughts provides a source of motivation.11 For example, positive
thoughts that one will feel better, look better, or be in better health may contribute to motivation.
CASE ANALYSIS 5
Mrs. Jones: “When the holidays come, my friends bring me candy and treats. My husband and I eat them.
We can’t waste food.”
YOUR RESPONSE:
Self-Efficacy
An “efficacy” expectation is the belief about how capable a person is of performing the change in behavior
required to lead to the desired health outcome. SE refers to the person’s confidence in the ability to perform a
health behavior or dietary change and to persist over time. It affects how much effort a person gives, what
level of performance is attained, and whether or not healthful behavior changes are maintained. A male client
may or may not believe, for example, that he can reduce his dietary sodium intake continuously (SE) to attain
the “outcome” of lower blood pressure. Among staff, an employee may believe that performing work optimally
will lead to the desired “outcome” of a promotion, but may or may not believe that he or she is capable (SE) of
optimum performance on a continuous basis.
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