The social cognitive theory explains how people acquire and maintain certain behavioral patterns, while also providing the basis for intervention strategies (Bandura, 1997). Evaluating behavioral change depends on the factors environment, people, and behavior. SCT provides a framework for designing, implementing and evaluating programs.
Environment refers to the factors that can affect a person’s behavior. There are social and physical environments. Social environment include family members, friends and colleagues. Physical environment is the size of a room, the ambient temperature or the availability of certain foods. Environment and situation provide the framework for understanding behavior (Parraga, 1990). The situation refers to the cognitive or mental representations of the environment that may affect a person’s behavior. The situation is a person’s perception of the lace, time, physical features and activity (Glanz et al, 2002).
The Social Cognitive Theory is relevant for designing health education and health behavior programs. This theory explains how people acquire and maintain certain behavioral patterns. The theory can also be used for providing the basis for intervention strategies.
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