Collective Efficacy

Collective efficacy was a concept pioneered by the social psychologist Albert Bandura as part of his social cognitive theory. According to Bandura, [Page 204]collective efficacy refers to the degree to which a group of people believe they can accomplish goals and overcome challenges to these goals. It is concerned with people's confidence in their joint abilities to overcome barriers and bring about change. Social cognitive theory conceptualizes efficacy at both the individual level, where it is known as self-efficacy, and at the group level, where it is called collective efficacy. The “collective” may be defined as a system, organization, institution, community, team, or small group. An example of collective efficacy might be the confidence of a community to reduce crime in its neighborhood. Notably, efficacy ...