PosPsych Report 5 (Self-Efficacy)

James E. Maddux

author of Self-efficacy

believing you can accomplish what you want to accomplish

perhaps the most important ingredient in the recipe of success

The Little Engine That Could

children’s book in Self-Efficacy

“people’s beliefs in their capabilities to produce desired effects by their actions”

basic premise of self-efficacy theory

Self Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavior Change

Albert Bandura’s 1977 Psychological Review article

Self-efficacy

not perceived skill; it is what I believe I can do with my skills under certain conditions

Causal Attributions

Self-efficacy beliefs are not ______________ which are explanations for events, including my own behavior and its consequences

Intentions

what I say I will probably do; and research has shown that this is influenced by, but not limited to, self-efficacy

Self-esteem

what I believe about myself, and how I feel about what I believe about myself

Behavior-Outcome Expectancy

my belief that a specific behavior may lead to a specific outcome in a specific situation

Self-efficacy Belief

the belief that I can perform the behavior that produces the outcome

Social Cognitive Theory

Self-efficacy is best understood in the context of ______________—an approach to understanding human cognition, action, motivation, and emotion that assumes that we are active shapers of rather than simply passive reactors to our environments

cognitively, effectively, behaviorally

According to the second premise of the social cognitive theory, we respond ________, ____________, and _____________ to environmental events.

Self-observation

analyze and evaluate our own behavior, thoughts, and emotions

Self-Regulation

At the heart of _____________ is our ability to anticipate or develop expectancies—to use past knowledge and experience to form beliefs about future events and states and beliefs about our abilities and behavior.

capacity for symbolic thought, capacity for self-observation and self-reflection

Early development of self-efficacy is influenced by two factors

Sense of Personal Agency

The development of a _______________ begins in infancy and moves from the perception of the causal relationship between events, to an understanding that actions produce results, to the recognition that one can produce actions that cause results

Exploration

The development of efficacy beliefs encourages ___________, which in turn enhances the infant’s sense of agency.

performance experiences, vicarious experiences, imaginal experiences, verbal persuasion, physiological and emotional states

Five primary sources of self-efficacy beliefs

Performance Experiences

our own attempts to control our environments are the most powerful source of self-efficacy in formation

Vicarious Experiences

Self-efficacy beliefs are influenced also by our observations of the behavior of others and the consequences of those behaviors.

Imaginal Experiences

We can influence self-efficacy beliefs by imagining ourselves or others behaving effectively or ineffectively in hypothetical situations.

Verbal Persuasion

Efficacy beliefs are influenced by what others say to us about what they believe we can or cannot do.

Physiological and Emotional States

Influence self-efficacy when we learn to associate poor performance or perceived failure with aversive physiological arousal and success with pleasant feeling states.

psychological adjustment, physical health, self-regulation, psychotherapy, collective efficacy

five areas where self-efficacy is most important

Depression

Low self-efficacy expectancies are an important feature of _______________

Dysfunctional Anxiety

_________________ and avoidant behavior are often the direct result of low self efficacy expectancies for managing threatening situations.

Enablement Factors

the personal resources that allow people “to select and structure their environments in ways that set a successful course for their lives”

adoption of healthy behaviors, influence a number of biological processes

beliefs about self-efficacy influences health in two ways

protection motivation theory, health belief model, theory of planned behavior

major theories of health behavior that include self-efficacy as a key component

Catecholamines

a family of neurotransmitters important to the management of stress and perceived threat, along with the endogenous painkillers referred to as endorphins

goals or standards of performance, self-evaluative reactions to performance, self-efficacy beliefs

Self regulation (simplified) depends on three interacting components

task-diagnostic, self-diagnostic

high self-efficacy:_____________::low self-efficacy:________________

Psychotherapy

professionally guided interventions designed to enhance psychological well-being, while acknowledging that self-regulation plays an important role in all such interventions

Guided Mastery

in vivo experience with the feared object or situation during therapy sessions, or between sessions as “homework” assignments, most effective intervention for phobias

hypnosis, biofeedback, relaxation training, meditation, medication

Most common strategies for reducing physiological arousal typically associated with low self-efficacy and poor performance.

Collective Efficacy

a group’s shared belief in its conjoint capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given levels of attainments

Enablement

The emphasis of social cognitive theory and self-efficacy theory on the development of ______________—providing people with skills for selecting and attaining the life goals they desire—over prevention and risk reduction is consonant with both of these emphases.

psychological adjustment, psychological problems, physical health, professionally and self-guided behavioral changes

areas that self-efficacy play a crucial role in

volition, will

researchers tried to understand the role of ___________ (the act of choosing) and the __________ in human behavior