I Think I Can, I Think I Can: A Tribute to Self-Efficacy
Picture this: you’re on a trip and you stumble across some kids playing a sport you’ve never played before—let’s say cricket. They invite you to take a swing. Do you think, “there’s no way I can do this” or “I’ve totally got this”? If you answered the latter, then you have high self-efficacy in this situation. (Whether or not you actually hit the ball, dear readers, is a different story…)
Self-efficacy is a person’s belief that they have the ability to succeed in a specific situation. Dr. Bandura, the psychologist who first wrote about self-efficacy, theorized that people with high self-efficacy see a difficult task as one they need to work at to overcome—while those with lower self-efficacy might shy away from it altogether.
When it comes to health, people often avoid things they think are difficult—like quitting smoking, changing their diet, or getting more active. So what’s a health writer to do?
- Encourage readers by breaking behaviors into small steps. Losing 10 pounds might sound impossible. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator sounds doable.
- Offer suggestions for overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of change. Remind people that they can get physical activity in short spurts—every little bit counts!
- Make your content clear and easy to understand. Complicated language can make healthy behaviors seem complicated, too. Make sure folks can really hear your message.
The next time you’re creating health content, think to yourself: What can I do to help my audience feel more confident that they can change their behavior?
The bottom line: Increase your readers’ self-efficacy by focusing on small steps, addressing barriers, and writing clear content.
Tweet about it: I think I can, I think I can! @CommunicateHlth talks self-efficacy in #HealthLit content: bit.ly/2JDlj9A
