Abstract
Social-cognitive and behavioral theories of change disagree on what the relevant controlling variables for initiating behavior change are. Correlations between baseline smoking cessation self-efficacy and the changes in breath carbon monoxide (CO) and the reduction in breath CO and increases in smoking cessation self-efficacy from baseline were obtained from a contingency management smoking cessation procedure. A test of the difference between the cross-lag correlations suggested a nonspurious causal relationship between smoking cessation self-efficacy and changes in breath CO. Path analyses showed that decreases in breath CO (reductions in smoking) predicted later increases in smoking cessation self-efficacy. Baseline self-reports of smoking cessation self-efficacy were not significantly correlated with subsequent changes in breath CO. Rather, significant correlations were found between reductions in breath CO and later increases in smoking cessation self-efficacy. These results suggest that self-efficacy may be a cognitive response to one's own behavior, and are inconsistent with a social-cognitive view of self-efficacy's role in behavior change. Implications for the development of smoking cessation programs and health-promoting behavior changes in general are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 139-145 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Bandura
- Skinner
- behavior modification
- correlation
- health psychology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pharmacology (medical)
- Pharmacology