Overview
This lecture by Albert Bandura explains self-efficacy within social learning theory, defining it, describing its impact, and outlining its four main sources.
Definition and Importance of Self-Efficacy
- Self-efficacy is the belief in one's ability to organize and execute actions needed to achieve specific goals.
- It influences how people feel, think, motivate themselves, and behave.
- High self-efficacy leads to viewing challenges as opportunities, while low self-efficacy results in avoiding difficulties.
Sources of Self-Efficacy
- There are four main sources: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological states.
Mastery Experiences
- Successes from personal accomplishments are the most powerful source of self-efficacy.
- Repeated success increases self-efficacy, while repeated failure decreases it.
- The degree of influence depends on task difficulty, effort, external support, conditions, and timing of successes or failures.
Vicarious Experiences
- Observing others similar to oneself succeed increases belief in one's own abilities.
- Seeing similar others fail can undermine self-efficacy.
- The more similar the model, the greater the influence on self-efficacy.
Verbal Persuasion
- Encouragement and positive feedback from credible, knowledgeable sources can temporarily boost self-efficacy.
- Belief in encouragement leads to increased and sustained effort.
Physiological States
- Physical and emotional states (e.g., stress, mood) affect self-judgments of capability.
- Positive mood enhances, while negative mood diminishes, self-efficacy.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Self-efficacy — belief in one's ability to organize and execute actions to achieve goals.
- Mastery experiences — personal successes that build self-efficacy through authentic accomplishment.
- Vicarious experiences — observing others' successes or failures as a basis for one's own efficacy beliefs.
- Verbal persuasion — being convinced verbally by others that you can succeed.
- Physiological states — interpreting bodily and emotional cues when judging personal abilities.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review examples of each source of self-efficacy in your own experiences.
- Reflect on how your mood and self-talk influence your beliefs in your abilities.