Ralf Schwarzer

Bio: Ralf Schwarzer is an academic researcher from Free University of Berlin. The author has contributed to research in topics: Behavior change & Health action process approach. The author has an hindex of 88, co-authored 390 publications receiving 35303 citations. Previous affiliations of Ralf Schwarzer include The Chinese University of Hong Kong & Australian Catholic University.

Modeling Health Behavior Change: How to Predict and Modify the Adoption and Maintenance of Health Behaviors

Abstract: Health-compromising behaviors such as physical inactivity and poor dietary habits are difficult to change. Most social-cognitive theories assume that an individual’s intention to change is the best direct predictor of actual change. But people often do not behave in accordance with their intentions. This discrepancy between intention and behavior is due to several reasons. For example, unforeseen barriers could emerge, or people might give in to temptations. Therefore, intention needs to be supplemented by other, more proximal factors that might compromise or facilitate the translation of intentions into action. Some of these postintentional factors have been identified, such as perceived self-efficacy and strategic planning. They help to bridge the intention– behavior gap. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) suggests a distinction between (a) preintentional motivation processes that lead to a behavioral intention, and (b) postintentional volition processes that lead to the actual health behavior. In this article, seven studies are reported that examine the role of volitional mediators in the initiation and adherence to five health behaviors: physical exercise, breast self-examination, seat belt use, dietary behaviors, and dental flossing. The general aim is to examine the applicability of the HAPA and its universality by replicating it across different health behaviors, based on various measures, time spans, and samples from different countries. Les comportements nuisibles a la sante tels que le manque d’exercice physique et les mauvaises habitudes alimentaires sont difficiles a modifier. La plupart des theories socio-cognitives admettent que le meilleur predicteur d’un reel changement est l’intention que la personne a de changer. Mais la conduite est souvent en contradiction avec les intentions. La divergence entre intention et comportement est due a plusieurs raisons. Par exemple, des obstacles imprevus

Modelando el cambio en el comportamiento de salud: Cómo predecir y modificar la adopción y el mantenimiento de comportamientos de salud

Abstract: Health-compromising behaviors such as physical inactivity and poor dietary habits are difficult to change. Most social-cognitive theories as...

Self-Efficacy : Thought Control Of Action

Abstract: Part 1: self-efficacy and human functioning exercise of personal agency through the self-efficacy mechanism two dimensions of perceived self- efficacy - cognitive control and behavioural coping ability. Part 2: self- Efficacy And Human Development Perceived Control - Motivation, Coping and development personal control over development - implications of self- Efficacy. Part 3: Self-Efficacy, Stress And Emotions Perceived Self- efficacy and phobic disability self-efficacy and depression. Part 4: self-efficacy and health behaviours self-efficacy in the adoption and maintenance of health behaviours - theoretical approaches and a new model self-efficacy and attribution theory in health education. Part 5: self-efficacy, physical symptoms, and rehabilitation of chronic disease the role of self-efficacy in recovery from heart attack self-efficacy mechanism in psychobiologic functioning.

The general self-efficacy scale: multicultural validation studies.

Abstract: General self-efficacy is the belief in one's competence to cope with a broad range of stressful or challenging demands, whereas specific self-efficacy is constrained to a particular task at hand. Relations between general self-efficacy and social cognitive variables (intention, implementation intentions, outcome expectancies, and self-regulation), behavior-specific self-efficacy, health behaviors, well-being, and coping strategies were examined among 1,933 respondents in 3 countries: Germany (n = 633), Poland (n = 359), and South Korea (n = 941). Participants were between 16 and 86 years old, and some were dealing with stressful situations such as recovery from myocardial events or tumor surgery. Perceived self-efficacy was measured by means of the General Self-Efficacy Scale (R. Schwarzer & M. Jerusalem, 1995). Meta-analysis was used to determine population effect sizes for four sets of variables. Across countries and samples, there is consistent evidence for associations between perceived self-efficacy and the variables under study confirming the validity of the psychometric scale. General self-efficacy appears to be a universal construct that yields meaningful relations with other psychological constructs.

Is General Self-Efficacy a Universal Construct?1

Abstract: Summary Perceived self-efficacy represents an optimistic sense of personal competence that seems to be a pervasive phenomenon accounting for motivation and accomplishments in human beings. The General Self-Efficacy scale, developed to measure this construct at the broadest level, has been adapted to many languages. The psychometric properties of this instrument is examined among 19,120 participants from 25 countries. The main research question is whether the measure is configurally equivalent across cultures, that is, whether it corresponds to only one dimension. The findings confirm this assumption and suggest the globality of the underlying construct. They also point to a number of cross-cultural differences that merit further investigation.

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Immigration, Acculturation, and Adaptation

Abstract: La psychologie interculturelle a montre qu'il existait des rapports etroits entre le contexte culturel et le developpement comportemental de l'individu. Cette relation etablie, l'effort des recherches interculturelles a de plus en plus porte sur ce qu'il advenait des individus quand ils tentaient de refaire leur vie dans une culture differente de leur culture d'origine. Les consequences psychologiques a long terme de ce processus d'acculturation sont tres variables, dependant de variables sociales et personnelles qui renvoient a la societe de depart, a la societe d'accueil et a des phenomenes qui existent avant, mais qui emergent pendant la periode d'acculturation. Cet article esquisse un schema conceptuel a partir duquel acculturation et adaptation peuvent ětre etudiees, puis presente quelques conclusions et resultats generaux tires d'un echantillon de travaux empiriques. On envisage des applications possibles a la politique et aux programmes d'insertion en prenant en consideration les couts et les benefices sociaux et psychologiques emanant de l'adoprion d'une orientation pluraliste et integrationniste. Cross-cultural psychology has demonstrated important links between cultural context and individual behavioural development. Given this relationship, cross-cultural research has increasingly investigated what happens to individuals who have developed in one cultural context when they attempt to re-establish their lives in another one. The long-term psychological consequences of this process of acculturation are highly variable, depending on social and personal variables that reside in the society of origin, the society of settlement. and phenomena that both exist prior to, and arise during, the course of acculturation. This article outlines a conceptual framework within which acculturation and adaptation can be investigated, and then presents some general findings and conclusions based on a sample of empirical studies. Applications to public policy and programmes are proposed. along with a consideration of the social and psychological costs and benefits of adopting a pluralist and integrationist orientation to these issues.

Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS Scales

Abstract: J. A. Gray (1981, 1982) holds that 2 general motivational systems underlie behavior and affect: a behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and a behavioral activation system (BAS). Self-report scales to assess dispositional BIS and BAS sensitivities were created. Scale development (Study 1) and convergent and discriminant validity in the form of correlations with alternative measures are reported (Study 2). In Study 3, a situation in which Ss anticipated a punishment was created. Controlling for initial nervousness, Ss high in BIS sensitivity (assessed earlier) were more nervous than those low in BIS sensitivity. In Study 4, a situation in which Ss anticipated a reward was created. Controlling for initial happiness, Ss high in BAS sensitivity (Reward Responsiveness and Drive scales) were happier than those low in BAS sensitivity. In each case the new scales predicted better than an alternative measure. Discussion is focused on conceptual implications.

Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies.

Abstract: This article describes a scale measuring dispositional optimism, defined in terms of generalized outcome expectancies. Two preliminary studies assessed the scale's psychometric properties and its relationships with several other instruments. The scale was then used in a longitudinal study of symptom reporting among a group of undergraduates. Specifically, respondents were asked to complete three questionnaires 4 weeks before the end of a semester. Included in the questionnaire battery was the measure of optimism, a measure of private self-consciousness, and a 39-item physical symptom checklist. Subjects completed the same set of questionnaires again on the last day of class. Consistent with predictions, subjects who initially reported being highly optimistic were subsequently less likely to report being bothered by symptoms (even after correcting for initial symptom-report levels) than were subjects who initially reported being less optimistic. This effect tended to be stronger among persons high in private self-consciousness than among those lower in private self-consciousness. Discussion centers on other health related applications of the optimism scale, and the relationships between our theoretical orientation and several related theories.

Health Promotion by Social Cognitive Means

Abstract: This article examines health promotion and disease prevention from the perspective of social cognitive theory. This theory posits a multifaceted causal structure in which self-efficacy beliefs operate together with goals, outcome expectations, and perceived environmental impediments and facilitators in the regulation of human motivation, behavior, and well-being. Belief in one’s efficacy to exercise control is a common pathway through which psychosocial influences affect health functioning. This core belief affects each of the basic processes of personal change—whether people even consider changing their health habits, whether they mobilize the motivation and perseverance needed to succeed should they do so, their ability to recover from setbacks and relapses, and how well they maintain the habit changes they have achieved. Human health is a social matter, not just an individual one. A comprehensive approach to health promotion also requires changing the practices of social systems that have widespread effects on human health.