According to Albert Bandura, self-efficacy
is the belief in ones capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations . In other words, self-efficacy is a persons belief in his or
her ability to succeed in a particular situation.
Bandura described these beliefs as
determinants of how people think, behave, and feel.
Virtually all people can identify goals they
want to accomplish, things they would like to change, and things they would like to achieve. However, most people also realize that putting these plans into action is not quite so simple. Bandura and others have found that an individuals self-efficacy plays a major role in how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached.
View
challenging problems as tasks to be
deeper interest in the activities in
mastered.
Develop
which they participate.
Form
a stronger sense of commitment to quickly from setbacks and
their interests and activities.
Recover
disappointments.
Avoid
challenging tasks.
that difficult tasks and situations are
Believe
beyond their capabilities.
Focus
on personal failings and negative
outcomes.
Quickly
lose confidence in personal abilities
How does self-efficacy develop? These
beliefs begin to form in early childhood as children deal with a wide variety of experiences, tasks, and situations. However, the growth of self-efficacy does not end during
youth, but continues to evolve throughout life
as people acquire new skills, experiences, and understanding (Bandura, 1992).
1.
Mastery Experiences
"The most effective way of developing a strong
sense of efficacy is through mastery experiences,.
Performing a task successfully strengthens our sense of self-efficacy. However, failing to adequately deal with a task or challenge can undermine and weaken self-efficacy.
2.
Social Modeling
Witnessing other people successfully
completing a task is another important source of selfefficacy. According to Bandura, Seeing people similar to oneself succeed beliefs by sustained they too effort possess raises the observers' (1994). that
capabilities master comparable activities to succeed
3.
Social Persuasion
Bandura also asserted that people could be
persuaded to belief that they have the skills and
capabilities to succeed. Consider a time when someone said something positive and encouraging that helped you
achieve a goal. Getting verbal encouragement from others
helps people overcome self-doubt and instead focus on giving their best effort to the task at hand.
4.
Psychological Responses
Our own responses and emotional reactions to
situations also play an important role in self-efficacy.
Moods, emotional states, physical reactions, and stress levels can all impact how a person feels about their personal abilities in a particular situation.
4.
Psychological Responses
A person who becomes extremely nervous
before speaking in public may develop a weak sense
of self-efficacy in these situations. However, Bandura also notes "it is not the sheer intensity of emotional and physical reactions that is important but rather how they are perceived and interpreted" (1994).
Thank you!