Reinforcement as a Construct of Social Cognitive Theory and Its Relationship with COVID-19 Vaccination Incentives |Biomedgrid

Since the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, various incentives have been offered to individuals to encourage them to get vaccinated. These offers have included gift cards, lottery tickets for college, and discounts for customers of some businesses. Critiques of this type of reinforcement, argue that gifts offered to those who accept the ssCOVID-19 vaccine are coercive. There has not been any consensus as to what is considered the right type of reward for the COVID-19 vaccine. As far as public policy, the reward for the COVID-19 vaccine is a novel idea and different states have come up with different incentives [1]. The ethical basis of these rewards hinges on the need to reduce overall harm and protect highly vulnerable populations [2]. The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) [3] is one of the behaviours change theories widely used in public health programs and health interventions. The theory is built on the premise that people learn from their own experiences and the experiences of others. Rimer, et al. [3] refer to five concepts that are integral parts of the SCT, which are reciprocal determinism, behavioral capacity, expectations, self-efficacy, observational learning, and reinforcements.