Self-Efficacy: A study on Albert Bandura

1. Self-Efficacy: A study on Albert Bandura By: Lisa Thomas and Jenny Johnson

2. Biographical Information • Born in 1925 in Alberta, Canada • Grew up in a small town • Attended the U. of British Colombia • Enrolled in an Gen. Psych. Course by chance • Majored in Psychology and graduated in 1949 • Went to graduate school at U. of Iowa and graduated in 1952 • In 1953 he taught at Stanford and wrote his first book Adolescent Aggressionwith Richard Walters • In 1974 he was elected President of the American Psychological Association • Retired from teaching March 15th 2010.

3. “Social Cognitive Theory” Social Cognitive Theory provides a large body of verified knowledge about the determinants and psychological mechanisms governing observational learning of behavioral and social competencies, cognitive skills, and emotional propensities. (Bandura, Self-Efficacy) “Observational Learning” Bandura believes that we learn a great deal through imitation by observing models and mentally coding what we see.

4. Bandura vs. Skinner Bandura Skinner • In Skinner’s theory, learning appears to be a gradual process in which organisms must act to learn—behavior shaped overtime by consequences • Bandura argues that in social situations we often learn much more rapidly simply through observing behavior of others—more immediate

5. “Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own action to inform them what to do.”—Bandura, 1977

6. Bandura’s theory integrates a continuous interaction between: Behaviors Environment Cognitions

7. The Subprocesses of Observational Learning Attentional Processes: what is selectively observed in the profusion of modeling influences and what information is extracted from ongoing modeled events Retention Processes: an active process of transforming and restructuring information about events for memory representation in the form of rules and conceptions Production Processes: conceptions are translated to appropriate courses of action—when deficits exist, the sub-skills required for complex performances must 1st be developed by modeling and guided enactment Motivation Processes: social cognitive theory distinguishes between acquisition and performance because people do not perform everything they learn—people are more likely to exhibit modeled behavior if it results in valued outcomes than if it has unrewarding or punishing effects (Bandura, Self-Efficacy)

8. Bobo Doll Experiment Observation Bandura wanted to prove that behavior such as aggression is learned through observing and imitating others People who view aggression in society (consciously or unconsciously) think that the behavior is acceptable for them to imitate • GroupA: Watched an adult hitting doll with a mallet • Group B: Watched an adult play nicely with the doll • Group A: In playroom, children battered the doll with mallet • Group B: In playroom, children played nicely with doll Results

9. SELF-EFFICACY “Beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” —Bandura , Self-Efficacy Plays a major role in how one approaches goals, tasks, and challenges Center of Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

10. The Difference Between Self-Efficacy & Self-Esteem __________________________________________________ Often used interchangeably as though they represent the same phenomenon, when in fact they refer to entirely different things. • Self-Efficacy: concerned with judgments of personal capabilities • Example: “I’m going to make this free-throw shot.” • Self-Esteem:concerned with judgment of self-worth • Example: “I’m a terrible person.” “There is no fixed relationship between beliefs about one’s capabilities and whether one likes or dislikes oneself.” (Bandura, Self-Efficacy)

11. Sources of Self-Efficacy Appraisals • Actual Performance: efficacy perceived through performance experiences. Success builds a strong belief in one’s personal efficacy, and failure undermines it. • Bandura believes this to be the most influential source of knowledge • Vicarious Experiences: appraising one’s capabilities in relation to the attainment of others • Verbal Persuasion: easier to sustain a sense of efficacy, especially when struggling with difficulties, if significant others express faith in one’s capabilities than if they convey doubts • Psychological Cues: In judging their capabilities, people rely partly on somatic information conveyed by physiological and emotional states. (Bandura, Self-Efficacy)

12. Question Is verbal persuasion or a child’s actual performance the most influential source of a child’s self-efficacy appraisal? If verbal persuasion is most effective, does it matter whether it is positive or negative in regard to the effect it has on the child’s recorded running time? To what degree do vicarious experiences affect the child’s self-efficacy appraisal.

13. Hypothesis • Since society today focuses primarily on encouraging students through verbal persuasion, this study will attempt to disprove Bandura’s conclusion about actual performance as the most effective source by proving verbal persuasion, negative or positive, to be the most influential source.

14. Research Study 17 kids (9 boys and 8 girls) Age range: 6-17 years old We divided the kids into 4 groups: actual performance, vicarious experience, negative verbal persuasion, and positive verbal persuasion—leaving out psychological cues. Each child observed the measured distance of about 100 feet and predicted how long it would take he or she to run it. After implementing the different sources of self-efficacy appraisal in each group and we then asked for a second prediction from the child. Then depending on the group, after the child ran, he or she gave a third prediction

15. Actual Performance Group

16. Actual Performance

17. Vicarious Experience Group

18. Vicarious Experience

19. Verbal Persuasion (Positive) Group

20. Verbal Persuasion-Positive

21. Verbal Persuasion (Negative) Group

22. Verbal Persuasion-Negative

23. Which has the most Influence?

24. Comparing 1st Runs

25. Told ya so! Our Conclusion: Bandura was Right!

26. Our Conclusion • Through our testing we found our hypothesis to be INCORRECT: • Like Bandura, our test results proved actual performance to be the most influential source of self-efficacy appraisal • Negative and positive verbal persuasion had the same effect on the child’s running time • Vicarious experience was the 3rd most influential source of self-efficacy appraisal.

27. What Would We Do Differently Next Time? Not have parents present Do it in a even more controlled setting Focus more on gender and age Make sure that the kids are not sharing scores between groups Include “Physiological Cues”

28. Does gender matter when using different sources of self-efficacy appraisal? Further Questions How does age affect the child’s self-efficacy appraisals?

29. Nature vs. Nuture Bandura Nurture Nature Rousseau Piaget Locke It’s appealing to imagine children making their own discoveries and creating their own ideas. In reality, however, children’s minds are structured by the environment, by the models and the social training practices the environment provides (Bandura, 1977)

30. Thank you for your time! Hope you have a Happy Easter!