Seasickness as a self-fulfilling prophecy: Raising self-efficacy to boost performance at sea

Abstract

Applying the self-fulfilling prophecy (SFP) approach to combating seasickness, the authors experimentally augmented the self-efficacy of naval cadets by telling them that they were unlikely to experience seasickness and that, if they did, it was unlikely to affect their performance at sea. Naval cadets ( N = 25) in the Israel Defense Forces were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. At the end of a 5-day training cruise, experimental cadets reported less seasickness and were rated as better performers by naive training officers than were the control cadets. There was a nonsignificant tendency for the experimental effects to be stronger among cadets of lower initial self-efficacy, suggestive of behavioral plasticity. Reducing seasickness by verbally enhancing self-efficacy is discussed as an application of "verbal placebo." These findings extend the generalizability of the SFP-at-work model and suggest new arenas for its practical application. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)