The leading edge of Positive Psychology research indicates that self-efficacy is the best predictor of happiness and general well-being. Self-efficacy is a self-appraisal of our ability to use our skills to attain our goals. It is not a simply a self-assessment of our abilities. When we feel self-efficacious, we see ourselves as able to mobilize our cognitive, emotional, and physical resources, set a course of action, and maintain our motivation in order to master the situation at hand.
Our feeling of self-efficacy reflects the deepest levels of our belief in ourselves and in our abilities. It is the self-evaluation of our ability to manage our emotions, acquire new skills, and to cope with challenges. It is not merely self-esteem or a general positive self-image.
Self-efficacy is acquired over time through the processes of social learning and cognitive development. By understanding what contributes to the development of our self-efficacy, we can shape our experiences to support an increasing sense of self-efficacy.
Topics in the Text Below:
The Nature of Self-Efficacy
Sources of Self-Efficacy
The Effects and Biases of Self-Efficacy
The Nature of Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy emerges from the recursive interaction of our environment, behavior, and cognition. These forces are continually interacting, each having an effect on the other and each having different levels of force under different situations. This interactive dynamic contributes to the powerful effect that self-efficacy has on all aspects of our life. Self-efficacy determines not only our self-appraisal, but also how we conceptualize the events of our life and what goals we set for ourselves.
Our self-efficacy will vary across different aspects of our self-image. For example, we have distinct self-efficacy toward our ability for reasoning, or interpersonal relating, or for physical skills. In broad terms, cognitive self-efficacy addresses our perceived ability to control our thinking and to control intrusive, depressive, or anxious thoughts. Emotional self-efficacy is the degree to which we feel that we can control our moods or emotions in specific situations.
Behavioral self-efficacy addresses our perceived capacity to act well, socially, sexually, or physically, as well controlling impulsive or addictive behaviors such as smoking or drinking.
Sources of Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is a concept tied to Social Cognitive Theory, developed by Albert Bandura, which stresses the importance of thought and action over innate character or developmental determinants in creating our sense of self. The emphasis on cognition to determine our self-efficacy is based on our cognitive capacity to conceptualize. Human beings have a powerful, symbolizing capability that allows us to develop and test hypothesis regarding actions and outcomes.
Through observations in life and self-reflection, we continually form concepts pertaining to our abilities and possibilities. Such concept formation and self-reflection helps us analyze and evaluate our thoughts and experiences, leading to predictions about our potential successes and failures. The self-concepts we develop determine how effective we feel in meeting our goals and developing purpose in life.
Successes in life are the main source of our self-efficacy. However, we must experience this attainment of our goals as meaningful and tied to the realistic circumstances of our lives. We build up our self-efficacy through successes that matter to us—and what matters to us is acquired through cognitive social learning. Multiple factors effect this cognitive processing, including our personal history and psychosocial circumstances. Generally, our self-efficacy is shaped by what we are attending to and how we value it in relation to our sense of self.
Although actual successes are the greatest boost to self-efficacy, the impact of those successes on our self-efficacy is tied to the difficulty of the task, the amount of effort expended, the amount of external aid received, and the circumstances under which they are performed. We cognitively enhance the benefit of these parameters when we mitigate our sense of failure through attributing it to a lack of effort or to negative, external circumstances. The pattern of successes and failures will impact our self-efficacy, as well. For example: initial failures in new areas can be particularly injurious; one success after many failures will not boost self-efficacy; a failure around a pattern of improvement is beneficial.
Positive verbal persuasion only boosts self-efficacy when we already think success is likely. In such situations, persuasion can increase our performance motivation resulting in more positive outcomes. Unlike the narrow range in which positive persuasions are beneficial, negative persuasion is broadly deleterious. Additionally, negative persuasion has a greater downward effect than positive persuasion an upward effect. Negative persuasion is particularly pernicious because it reduces performance effort, increasing failures or leads to outright avoidance. Avoidance is a formidable drag on our self-efficacy because it precludes any possibility of a positive experience.
In addition to direct experience, we acquire our self-efficacy vicariously. Social learning Theory has long ago established the power of vicarious learning and observational learning has a powerful effect on the development of our self-efficacy. Under certain conditions, what we see happening around us can profoundly enhance our self-efficacy. We learn from observation when we pay attention, mentally rehearse what we saw long enough to begin to copy it, and are motivated to attaining the associated goals. Situational variables can shape this process. Specifically, seeing others like ourselves perform successfully can raise our self-perceptions, the greater the similarity, the greater influence. This effect is most valuable in areas where we have previously had little or no direct experience. Vicarious learning is the most powerful for things that have no specific measure such as values and social conduct, as well as intangibles such as what is cool or hip.
The Effects and Biases of Self-Efficacy
Often, how we perceive our abilities has an effect that differs from any objective measure of our actual abilities. This cognitive distortion of our actual ability is the result of the influence of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy shapes the meanings and self-attributions that we create around our behavior. This will affect our expectations of the goals we set in life. Self-efficacy will also determine the strategies we use for problem-solving and taking action.
High self-efficacy allows us to be cognitively efficient, exercising direct and effective planning, strategizing, and problem-solving. With high self-efficacy, frustration will lead to increased motivation and increased effort in the face of any resistance. However, with low self-efficacy we will be unlikely to persevere in the face of frustration and it may result in avoidance of situations we feel inadequate in mastering. In this way, low self-efficacy can limit our exposure to situations that could result in positive self-efficacy enhancing experiences.
People with low self-efficacy will have cognitive distortions that limit their ability to have positive self-efficacy experiences. They are often inattentive to positive outcomes, as well as discounting or devaluing positive experiences. They generally perform poorly, and if they perform well, will likely attribute the success to external events rather than self-efficacy boosting constructs.
Additionally, low self-efficacy can reduce our sense of well-being. Low self-efficacy can result in having limited goals and aspirations, generating feelings of powerlessness, triggering despondency, or depression. These negative emotional responses will often generalize beyond the precipitating circumstances and further undermine our self-efficacy. Low self-efficacy leaves a person feeling powerless. Doubt about our ability to prevent future failures can produce anxiety or agitation and result in feelings of being unable to cope with life stresses.
Enhancing Self-Efficacy
The experience of acquiring new skills and competence will enhance our self-efficacy, fueling additional progress towards our final goals. We can reduce the limitations arising from our sense of low self-efficacy by not avoiding growth-producing opportunities, and to realize that we may need assistance, education, or other forms of support.
A number of self-efficacy enhancing strategies include making a clear distinction between past failures and present opportunities that include goals that are be concrete, specific, and incremental. We can focus on more effectively recalling past success. Through self-awareness, we can gain an understanding of how our previous self-efficacy generated negative emotions and self-attributions, increasing the coherence of our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors as well as changing our negative attributions when we are successful.
Selection, Optimization, and Compensation describe a set of tools developed by positive psychologist Paul Baltes for adaptive goal-setting. Selection is our initial positive stance towards goal attainment. It occurs when we have explored our options and then actively construct a choice. In a positive selection we do not avoid the problems but proactively establish goals aimed at problem resolution. Positive-selection goals help us attain the goal by focusing action, and facilitating the development of incremental steps to attaining the goal. Optimization is developing the resources and abilities to attain to the goal. When we practice optimization, we are building on our self-efficacy by creating an environment that is scaled and appropriate to our abilities and talents, allowing us to be incrementally successful. Compensation is making positive adjustments when we have failed to attain our goal. Adaptive compensation for failures includes identifying alternative, incremental goals, and obtaining the needed resources and skills to attain them.
We can also enhance our self-efficacy by remaining aware of our cognitive filters. Managing our biases requires that we remain aware of how self-efficacy can shape our appraisal of life events. Enhancing our conscious capacity for creating meaningful, mental representations of life’s events and circumstances was the focus of the Stoic Philosophers, in Ancient Greece and Rome. The effects of life events are filtered through how we process and mentally represent those events. The writing of Lucius Seneca exemplifies the stoic sensibility applied to the practicalities of life.
Inspiration is a powerful source of enhancing our self-efficacy. It allows us to move beyond loss and disappointment and focus on our positive potential. Exemplars are specific individuals who inspire and empower us to strive for excellence. They touch us in a way that helps us to surmount obstacles, to grow, and ultimately flourish.