Media Self-Efficacy: Validation of a New Concept

Abstract

In this study, we provide evidence of construct and discriminant validity for measures of self-efficacy in using television, newspaper, and interpersonal communication to monitor politics in everyday life. Data were drawn from a survey of undergraduates (N = 576) at a large public university. Self-efficacy is a key mediating variable in social learning theory, consisting of a combination of beliefs that one can perform tasks and that desired consequences follow from successful performance. Self-efficacy subscales were correlated with media uses, exposure, intellectual stimulation, credibility, political efficacy, and participation, which supported construct validity of measures. Subscale correlations supported the discriminant validity of media self-efficacy measures.