Self‐efficacy perspective on achievement behavior

TLDR

Self‑efficacy is defined as personal judgments of one’s capability to organize and execute behaviors, derived from self‑performance, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological cues, and is influenced by perceived ability, task difficulty, effort, aids, and outcomes, and is distinct from other achievement theories such as locus of control, attribution, and self‑worth. This article examines the role of perceived self‑efficacy as a key variable in understanding achievement behavior. Experimental tests of these ideas are summarized, highlighting their educational implications.

Abstract

This article examines the idea that perceived self‐efficacy is an important variable in understanding achievement behavior. Self‐efficacy refers to personal judgments of one's capability to organize and implement behaviors in specific situations. Students gain information about their level of self‐efficacy from self‐performances, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological indices. In forming efficacy judgments, people take into account factors such as perceived ability, task difficulty, effort expenditure, performance aids, and outcome patterns. Even when students acquire efficacy information from self‐performances, efficacy judgments are not mere reflections of those performances because educational practices differ in the type of information they convey about students' capabilities. Some experimental tests of these ideas are summarized along with their educational implications. The self‐efficacy framework is compared with locus of control, attribution, and self‐worth theories of achievement behavior.