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# Self-efficacy, locus of control and planned behavior

- Theory

Self-confidence, a sense of control and what others think all shape whether a person changes their health behaviour.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Self-efficacy: confidence in one's ability for a specific task; it predicts starting, effort and persistence.
- Sources of self-efficacy: mastery experiences (the strongest), watching others, verbal persuasion and physical and emotional state.
- Internal locus: ‘what happens to me depends on me’; external: it depends on others, luck or fate.
- Theory of planned behavior: attitude + subjective norm + perceived behavioural control → intention → behaviour.
- Perceived behavioural control is what separates planned behavior from the theory of reasoned action.
- Self-efficacy and locus of control are not the same: one is believing you can; the other, believing that acting changes the outcome.

## What it is

Several theories explain why the intention to look after oneself does not always become action. Bandura's self-efficacy is confidence in being able to carry out a specific behaviour. Rotter's locus of control describes whether a person credits what happens to their own actions or to outside forces. Ajzen's theory of planned behavior combines attitudes, social norms and perceived control to predict intention and behaviour.

## Key facts

- In health, three control orientations are described: internal, powerful others (the doctor, the family) and chance.
- An internal health locus of control goes with better health outcomes (in chronic pain: less pain and disability, better quality of life) and more adaptive coping.
- Subjective norm: what the person believes the people who matter to them expect, and their wish to comply.
- Intention–behaviour gap: many well-intentioned people do not act; concrete ‘when, where and how’ plans help close it.

## The three theories compared

| Theory | Author | Core idea | Clinical use |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Self-efficacy (social cognitive theory) | Bandura | Person, behaviour and environment influence each other (reciprocal determinism) | Small goals, guided practice, peer models |
| Locus of control | Rotter | Internal or external attribution of outcomes | Fit the message and strengthen the sense of control |
| Planned behavior | Ajzen | Intention depends on attitude, subjective norm and perceived control | Work on beliefs, social support and real obstacles |

## Clinical notes

- In diabetes, someone confident they can check their glucose and adjust their diet is more likely to do it: hands-on training raises self-efficacy.
- An extreme external locus (‘it all depends on God or the doctor’) is not fought; it is used to bring the family, community or team in as allies.

## Memory aid

‘I can, it is up to me, and my people approve’: self-efficacy, internal locus and subjective norm push toward action.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What is the most powerful source of self-efficacy according to Bandura?

Mastery experiences: having successfully done the behaviour, or part of it.

## Which three factors predict intention in the theory of planned behavior?

Attitude toward the behaviour, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control.

## How do self-efficacy and locus of control differ?

Self-efficacy is believing you are able to do something; locus of control is believing whether outcomes depend on your own actions or on outside forces.

## What is reciprocal determinism?

Bandura's idea that behaviour, personal factors (beliefs, expectations) and the environment all influence one another.

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## Connections

## Related 6

- [The health belief model](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/the-health-belief-model/)
- [The stages of change (transtheoretical model)](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/the-stages-of-change/)
- [Motivational interviewing](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/motivational-interviewing/)
- [Operant conditioning: reinforcement and punishment](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/operant-conditioning-reinforcement-and-punishment/)
- [Personality: traits, the Big Five and Freud's models](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/personality-traits-the-big-five-and-freud-s-models/)
- [Adherence: what it is and why it fails](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/adherence-what-it-is-and-why-it-fails/)

## Related conditions 1

- [Tobacco use disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/tobacco-use-disorder/)

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Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline.

Sources: [Theory at a Glance: A Guide For Health Promotion Practice (Second Edition)](https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/theory.pdf) (National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (US), 2005); [Locus of control patterns in headaches and chronic pain](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3812194/) (Pain Research & Management (PubMed Central), 2013).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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Source: https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/self-efficacy-locus-of-control-and-planned-behavior/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/self-efficacy-locus-of-control-and-planned-behavior/