Self-Efficacy

Definition

Self-efficacy is defined as people's beliefs in their capabilities to produce desired effects by their own actions. Self-efficacy theory maintains that selfefficacy beliefs are the most important determinants of the behaviors people choose to engage in and how much they persevere in their efforts in the face of obstacles and challenges. Self-efficacy theory also maintains that these self-efficacy beliefs play a crucial role in psychological adjustment, psychological problems, and physical health, as well as in professionally guided and self-guided behavioral change strategies.

Since the publication of Albert Bandura's 1977 Psychological Review article titled “Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavior Change,” the term self-efficacy has become ubiquitous in psychology and related fields. Hundreds of articles on every imaginable aspect of self-efficacy have appeared in journals devoted to psychology, sociology, kinesiology, public health, medicine, nursing, and other fields. This article addresses three basic questions: What are self-efficacy beliefs? Where do they come from? Why are they important?

History and Background

Although the term self-efficacy is recent, interest in beliefs about personal control has a long history in philosophy and psychology. Benedict Spinoza, David Hume, John Locke, William James, and (more recently) Gilbert Ryle have all struggled with understanding the role of volition and the will in human behavior. In the 20th century, the theories of effectance motivation, achievement motivation, social learning, and learned helplessness are just a few of the many theories that sought to explore relationships between perceptions of personal competence and human behavior and psychological well-being. Bandura's 1977 article, however, both formalized the notion of perceived competence as self-efficacy and offered a theory of how it develops and how it influences human behavior and defined it in a way that made scientific research on it possible. The essential idea was not new; what was new and important was the empirical rigor with which this idea could now be examined. Bandura also has placed self-efficacy theory in the context of his broader social cognitive theory.

What are Self-Efficacy Beliefs?

One of the best ways to get a clear sense of how selfefficacy is defined and measured is to distinguish it from related concepts. Self-efficacy is not perceived skill; it is what one believes one can do with one's skills under certain conditions. Self-efficacy beliefs are not simply predictions about behavior. Self-efficacy is concerned not with that one believes one will do but with what one believes one can do. Self-efficacy is not an intention to behave or an intention to attain a particular goal. An intention is what one says one will probably do, and research has shown that intentions are influenced by several factors, including, but not limited to, self-efficacy beliefs. A self-efficacy belief is [Page 815]not the same as a goal but is a belief about one's ability to do what it takes to achieve one's own goals. Self-efficacy is not self-esteem. Self-esteem is what one generally believes about oneself, and how one generally feels about what one believes about oneself. Self-efficacy beliefs are specific beliefs about exercising specific abilities in specific domains. Self-efficacy is not a motive, drive, or need for control. One can have a strong need for control in a particular domain but still hold weak beliefs about one's self-efficacy for that domain. Self-efficacy beliefs are not outcome expectancies (or behavior-outcome expectancies). An outcome expectancy is one's belief that a specific behavior may lead to a specific outcome in a specific situation. A self-efficacy belief, simply put, is one's belief that one can perform the behavior that produces the outcome. Self-efficacy is not a personality trait but, rather, beliefs about one's own ability to coordinate skills and abilities to attain desired goals in particular domains and circumstances. Self-efficacy beliefs can generalize from one situation to another, but specific self-efficacy beliefs are not caused by a personality trait called general self-efficacy.

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