Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in his or her capability to successfully perform a particular task or attain a targeted outcome. Together with the goals that people set and their habits, self-efficacy is one of the most powerful motivational predictors of how well a person will perform at almost any endeavor. Self-efficacy is a strong determinant of effort, persistence, and strategizing, as well as subsequent training and job performance. Besides being highly predictive, self-efficacy can be developed to harness its performance-enhancing benefits. After outlining the nature of self-efficacy and how it leads to performance, well-being, and other work-related outcomes, we will discuss the measurement and sources of self-efficacy. We then will consider whether it is possible to have too much self-efficacy and conclude by outlining ...