a successful experience. The treatment is broken down into small steps that can
be accomplished with only a slight increase in the client ’s effort. A client with a
fear of driving might begin by driving a short distance on a secluded street
(Bandura, 1997). This step is followed with gradually longer drives on busier
streets. With each successful experience, the client strengthens the belief that
he or she is capable of driving an automobile. You may have noticed that this
procedure sounds similar to systematic desensitization. Indeed, in many cases
the distinction between the two therapy procedures may lie only in how theyare interpreted. Behavior modification therapists explain successful systematic
desensitization in terms of replacing old stimulus-response bonds with new
ones. Social-cognitive therapists maintain that mastery experiences change effi-cacy expectations, leading to the change in behavior.
The other side of this process is that failure to instill a sense of efficacy in
a client might very well doom therapeutic efforts. People battling alcohol anddrug abuse typically do not succeed in treatment programs when they doubt
their ability to overcome the problem (Ilgen, McKellar, & Tiet, 2005).
Similarly, investigators find ex-smokers who are not confident they can stopsmoking are the most likely to fall back into their habit, sometimes within a
few weeks after quitting (Gwaltney, Shiffman, Balabanis, & Paty, 2005;
Shiffman et al., 2000).
But the power of self-efficacy goes far beyond eliminating fears and bad
habits. Self-efficacy beliefs have been found to play a role in overcoming a widevariety of psychological problems, including childhood depression (Bandura,
Pastorelli, Babaranelli, & Caprara, 1999), posttraumatic stress disorder
(Solomon, Weisenberg, Schwarzwald, & Mikulincer, 1988), test anxiety
(Smith, 1989), phobias (Williams, 1995), and bereavement (Bauer & Bonanno,
2001). Efficacy expectations also affect job performance (Stajkovic & Luthans,
1998), academic achievement (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli,
1996), weight loss (Linde, Rothman, Baldwin, & Jeffery, 2006), and romanticrelationships (Lent & Lopez, 2002). Heart attack patients who believe they can
effectively participate in their rehabilitation have better cardiovascular health
and lower mortality rates than those with low self-efficacy expectations abouttheir health care (Burns & Evon, 2007; Sarkar, Ali, & Whooley, 2009). In
short, believing that we are capable of making changes and moving forward is
an important component for dealing with many of the challenges and problemslife tosses our way.
ASSESSMENT: BEHAVIOR OBSERVATION METHODS
Let’s begin this section by thinking about one of your bad habits. Unless you
are quite different from the rest of us, you probably chew your nails, eat junk
food, lose your temper, use harsh language, smoke, talk too much, or engage
in some other behavior you probably would like to change. Now imagine
that you seek out a behavior therapist for help with this problem. The thera-
pist asks you a simple question: How often do you perform the behavior? If
you have been keeping track, you may be able to say exactly how many cigar-
ettes you smoke per day or how often you chew your nails each week. But364 CHAPTER 13 The Behavioral/Social Learning Approach