Self-Efficacy Theory (Social Cognitive Theory)

Self-efficacy

• was first coined by psychologist Albert Bandura (1977) a Canadian -American psychologist and a professor at Stanford University.

• is a person’s particular set of beliefs that determine how well one can execute a plan of action in prospective situations.

• Performance accomplishment

• Vicarious Learning

• Social Persuasion

• Emotional Arousal

Bandura’s Self Efficacy Theory (Influences)

• Persistence

• Performance

• Approach versus Avoidance

Bandura’s Self Efficacy Theory (Possible Outcomes)

• Performance accomplishment

• Vicarious Learning

• Social Persuasion

• Emotional Arousal

• Self Efficacy

• Behavior Performance

How does Self Efficacy develop?

Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Albert Bandura (1997) states individuals develop these by interpreting information from four main sources of influence.

Mastery of Experience

• refers to the experiences one gains when they take on a new challenge and are successful at doing so.

• the most influential source of efficacy information because they provide the most authentic evidence of whether one can muster whatever it takes to succeed.

Vicarious Experiences (Social Role Models)

• The second most important source of self-efficacy is through the vicarious experiences provided by social models.

• involve observing other people successfully completing a task.

Social Persuasion

• Receiving positive verbal feedback while undertaking a complex task persuades a person to believe that they have the skills and capabilities to succeed.

• Self-efficacy is influence by encouragement pertaining to an individual’s performance or ability to perform.

Emotional and Physiological Stress

• The emotional, physical, and psychological well-being of a person can influence how a person feels about their personal abilities in a particular situation.

• By learning how to manage anxiety and enhance mood when experiencing challenging situations, individuals can improve their sense of self - efficacy.

• Emphasize Peer Modeling

• Seek Feedback

• Encourage Participation

• Allow people to make their own choices

Building Self Efficacy

Building Self Efficacy

• People’s beliefs about their abilities have a profound effect on those abilities.

• Ability is not a fixed property; there is a huge variability in how you perform.

• People who have sense of self- efficacy bounce back from failure; they approach things in terms of how to handle them rather than worrying about what can go wrong” (Bandura, 1977)

Application of Self Efficacy

High self-efficacy has been linked with numerous benefits to daily life, such as resilience to adversity and stress, healthy lifestyle habits, improved employees’ performance, and educational achievement.

The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSEC)

• How self-efficacy is measured

• as developed by Matthias Jerusalem and Ralf Schwarzer - the scale is composed of only 8 items, rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)

• The scores were then calculated by taking the average of all 8 responses, (these will respectively range from 1 to 5)

• The way the test is supposed to work is so that the higher one’s score is, the greater the level of self- efficacy in said individual.

• “I will be able to achieve most of the goals that I have set for myself”

• “When facing difficult tasks, I am certain that I will accomplish them”

• “In general, I think that I can obtain outcomes that are important to me”

• “I believe I can succeed at most any endeavor to which I set my mind”

• “I will be able to successfully overcome many challenges”

• “I am confident that I can perform effectively on many different task”

• “Compared to other people, I can do most tasks very well.”

• “Even when things are tough, I can perform quite well”

The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSEC) Questions