Bandura ’ s Self-Efficacy

1. Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Presented by Caley Foster

2. Outline • Background • Definition of Self-efficacy • Reciprocal Determinism • Formation of Self-efficacy • Effects of Self-efficacy Beliefs • Self-efficacy & Job Performance • Implications for Trainers • Work Self-efficacy Inventory • Self-efficacy & Academics • Summary

3. Background on Self-efficacy • Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory • Expanded on Social Learning Theory (Miller & Dollard, 1941) • Actions and reactions of an individual are influenced by observed actions of others • Role of observational learning and social experience in personality development • Self-efficacy lies at the heart of this theory

4. Self-efficacy Defined • “Perceived self-efficacy is defined as people’s beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that effect their lives” (Bandura, 1994). • High self-efficacy • Belief that one can perform well • Low self-efficacy • Belief that one lacks the ability to perform well

5. Reciprocal Determinism • Theory set forth by Bandura in 1986 • View that (1) personal factors in the form of cognition, affect, & biological events, (2) behavior, and (c) environmental influences create interactions that result in a triadic reciprocality

6. Formation of Self-efficacy • Self-efficacy is formed in part through four major psychological processes • Cognitive • Motivational • Affective • Selection

7. Formation of Self-efficacy:Cognitive • Beliefs in efficacy shape the types of anticipatory scenarios they form and rehearse • High self-efficacy -- successful scenarios • Low self-efficacy -- dwell on possibility of failure, what can go wrong • Those with resilient sense of efficacy in face of difficult tasks set more challenging goals • Success gives confidence and competence, thus reaffirming high efficacy

8. Formation of Self-efficacy:Motivational • Attribution Theory • High-efficacy people attribute failures to insufficient effort. • Low-efficacy people attribute failure to low ability. • Expectancy-value theory expectations • High-Expect success; Low-expect failure • Goal-setting • Goals lower for low-efficacy • High-efficacy, higher goals, greater sense of achievement

9. Formation of Self-efficacy:Affective • High-efficacy people generally feel less threatened by challenges and more likely to consider them exciting • Low-efficacy can produce depression and anxiety

10. Formation of Self-efficacy:Selection Processes • People avoid activities and situations they believe exceed their coping capabilities. • People undertake challenging activities and select situations they consider themselves capable of handling.

11. Self-efficacy vs Self-efficacy Beliefs • ”People's level of motivation, affective states, and actions are based more on what they believe than on what is objectively true.” • Effects of self-efficacy beliefs • Choice behavior • Effort expenditure and persistence • Thought patterns and emotional reactions • Humans as producers vs foretellers of behavior

12. Effects of Beliefs Explored:Choice Behavior • Tendency to avoid involvement in tasks where efficacy is low • Generally engage in tasks where efficacy is high • High-efficacy/low skill can result in irreparable harm • Low-efficacy/high skill doesn’t allow for growth

13. Effects of Beliefs Explored:Effort Expenditure & Persistence • Stronger perceived self-efficacy results in more vigorous/persistent efforts • Individuals with high self-efficacy may feel less of a need to invest much effort in preparation • When applying skills, high-efficacy intensifies and maintains the effort required to realize a difficult performance • Difficult for someone with low-efficacy

14. Effects of Beliefs Explored:Thought Patterns & Emotional Reactions • Low-efficacy individuals believe things are more difficult than they actually are • Creates stress and narrow vision • High-efficacy people devote attention and energy to demands of the situation and perceive obstacles as challenges • High-efficacy people attribute failure to insufficient effort • Low-efficacy people relate failure to deficient ability

15. Effects of Beliefs Explored:Behavior Producers vs Foretellers • People with high self-efficacy act, think, and feel differently from those with low self-efficacy. They create their own futures, rather than foretell it.

16. Self-efficacy & Job Performance • r =.38 for self-efficacy and work-related performance • Skills unaccompanied by positive self-efficacy will lead to deficient or absent performance. • Low-efficacy individuals are more stressed and unhappier than high-efficacy people • High-efficacy/High-skill people may lack the incentive to perform well. • Task uncertainty can mislead efficacy judgments

17. Implications for Trainers • Self-efficacy is strengthened through a combination of practice and the conditions and consequences that accompany the practice of such skills. • Disparities in self-efficacy will occur if efficacy is measured for a simulated situation and performance is measured in a real situation, or vice versa. • 5 ways to strengthen efficacy • Performance mastery • Task-diagnostic feedback • Modeling • Social persuasion • Inference from physiological information

18. The Work Self-Efficacy Inventory (WS-Ei) • Dr. Joe Raelin developed the Work Self-efficacy Inventory (WS-Ei) to measure a range of behaviors/practices related to self-efficacy in the workplace. • Seven 5-point Likert-type scales • Not at all Confident to Completely Confident • 30 items in 7 dimensions and composite score • M = 3.8, SD =.6 • Cronbach’s Alpha ~.80 for subscores & composite • Strong convergent & divergent validity • Two forms - self or other

19. WS-Ei sample

20. Self-efficacy & Academics • Beliefs students create, develop, and hold to be true about themselves greatly contribute to success or failure in school • Most influential is a student’s mastery experience • Interpretation of performance-success or failure • Vicarious experience emphasizes teacher’s role • Self-efficacy beliefs influence college students’ choices of majors and career decisions • Efficacy beliefs of teachers are related to their instructional practices, which in turn relate to student outcomes • Students’ academic self-efficacy beliefs strongly influence academic performance and achievement

21. Summary • Self-efficacy is one’s belief about his/her capabilities to perform • Self-efficacy beliefs can influence behaviors in the workplace, academics, etc • Efforts should be taken to increase self-efficacy in individuals

22. Questions? Comments?