Page 180 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

Positive thoughts about fruits and vegetables affect one’s choices.
Source: CDC/Amanda Mills.

Given a choice, would you be more likely to take on a task if you believed you might NOT be successful or
would you select a task where you were confident of success? SE may determine whether or not a person will
attempt a task and how long the person will continue. Ways to increase a person’s SE include setting
reasonable goals for change, enjoying rewards for accomplished changes, keeping self-monitoring records, and
reinforcing successes. An increase in a person’s SE may improve motivation. SE is a central concept of Social
Cognitive Theory in predicting and promoting lifestyle behavior change.

SE is a situation-specific judgment of one’s ability to perform specific behaviors or tasks without relapsing,
as for example, eating differently, exercising more, or coping in high-risk situations.15 These perceptions about
performing and overcoming barriers, not necessarily one’s true capabilities, influence whether people consider
changing, whether they mobilize the perseverance and motivation to succeed, whether they have the ability to
recover from setbacks, and whether they can maintain behavior changes.16

A client on a weight reduction or diabetic regimen, for example, may have a strong degree of SE when
eating at home, but a weaker one when eating in a restaurant, thus affecting motivation and performance.
There are many things people do not pursue because they think they are not capable or harbor self-doubts

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