Lecture on Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, and Locus of Control

Overview

• Discussed three terms: self-esteem, self-efficacy, and locus of control.

Self-Esteem

• Definition: The regard or respect a person has for oneself.

Self-Efficacy

• Definition: Belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute actions in specific situations.
• Developed by Bandura.
• Much more specific than self-esteem.
• Impacts psychological states, behavior, and motivation.
• Major role in approaching goals, tasks, and challenges.

Types of Self-Efficacy

• Strong Sense (RISE):
  • View challenging problems as tasks to be mastered.
  • Develop deeper interests and activities.
  • Form a stronger sense of commitment.
  • Recover quickly from setbacks.
• Weak Sense (FALL):
  • Avoid challenging tasks.
  • Believe difficult tasks are beyond capabilities.
  • Focus on personal failings and negative outcomes.
  • Quickly lose confidence in personal abilities.

Sources of Self-Efficacy

1. Mastery of Experiences: Performing a task successfully strengthens self-efficacy.
2. Social Modeling: Seeing similar individuals succeed raises belief in one's own abilities.
3. Social Persuasion: Positive encouragement helps overcome self-doubt.
4. Psychological Responses: Managing stress and mood can improve self-efficacy.

Relation with Self-Esteem

• Possible to have low self-esteem and high self-efficacy, and vice versa.
• Perfectionists often have low self-esteem but high self-efficacy.

Locus of Control

• Definition: Extent to which people perceive control over events in their lives.
• Two types: Internal and External.

Internal Locus of Control

• Belief that one can influence events and their outcomes.
• Attributes results to own traits.
• Example: Poor test performance = lack of preparation.

External Locus of Control

• Belief that outside forces control events.
• Attributes events to environmental traits or causes.
• Example: Poor test performance = difficult questions.

General Observations

• Internal locus of control is associated with greater happiness, less depression, and less stress.

Conclusion

• Clarified differences between self-esteem, self-efficacy, and locus of control.