Social Cognitive Theory essay

Preparing Your Social Cognitive Review Paper

Review the readings, lesson notes, and digital media about social cognitive theory (SCT).

For the purpose of this paper:

The student will select one health problem (e.g., alcohol use, pregnancy) AND search the literature for several published journal articles that document a program where practitioners applied the social cognitive theory to their selected health problem.

1. Introduction: Describe social cognitive theory, including its major concepts, relational statements, and assumptions. Describe briefly how it was developed and by whom.
2. Method: Briefly outline how you searched the literature to find theoretical and research evidence related to this theory (databases used, key terms, etc.).
3. Review of the Literature Table: Present research you found related to use of this theory and its effectiveness (you should include at least 5-8 studies in your review table). Present the research you found in a table, listing the following:
4. author;
5. journal;
6. year published;
7. journal abstract;
8. target population;
9. health problem;
10. type of intervention (educational, social marketing, descriptive, correlational, experimental, etc.);
11. setting where intervention was carried out (school, community, work-based, clinic, etc.); and
12. whether or not the article will be selected as one of your two final articles. If the article is not selected, explain why.
13. Summarize and discuss TWO ARTICLES of those you selected to evaluate: Present and discuss the research you found related to the application of social cognitive theory and its effectiveness. For each article, be sure to indicate the following.
14. An overview of the journal article's purpose of the intervention (e.g., what was the intervention's aims and who was the target population), methods (e.g., how was intervention implemented), results, and discussion.
15. Be sure to explain how the social cognitive theory was applied to address the author's selected health problem (e.g., including constructs of the theory, their application, and how it was measured).
16. Be sure to briefly discuss the level(s) at which the program intervened.
17. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the theory application.
18. Conclusion: An effective conclusion identifies the main ideas and major conclusions from the body of your paper. Summarize the importance of SCT and its impact on behavior change intervention efforts.