Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy is one of the core concepts of Social Cognitive Theory developed by Albert Bandura. The theory was initially called Social Learning Theory. According to Bandura, self-efficacy is “an individual’s judgment of their own capacity to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce a given performance.” More generally, it refers to a person’s belief in their ability to possess the necessary skills to successfully accomplish a specific task. This belief relates not to the actual skills an individual possesses but to their personal judgments about what they can achieve with those skills.

Self-efficacy is a factor that influences individuals’ behavior and motivation. People’s actions are based not on objective reality but on their beliefs about what is true. Therefore, individuals with similar knowledge and skills may exhibit different levels of performance due to differing levels of self-efficacy. The concept is situation-specific and is not considered a general personality trait; an individual may have high self-efficacy in one domain but low self-efficacy in another.

Theoretical Approach and Key Characteristics

Self-efficacy influences four fundamental psychological processes in an individual’s life: cognitive, motivational, emotional, and decision-making. The theory asserts that the primary motivational structure underlying individuals’ actions is their self-efficacy beliefs. High self-efficacy leads individuals to set higher goals, exert greater effort in the face of challenges, and demonstrate greater persistence.

Sources of Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Bandura identified four primary sources of information that shape self-efficacy beliefs, which interact with one another.

Performance Accomplishments (Direct Experience)

This is the most influential source in the formation of self-efficacy beliefs. It consists of information individuals gain from their own direct successes or failures. Successful experiences strengthen self-efficacy, while failures weaken it. A strong sense of self-efficacy develops gradually through repeated successful experiences and is not easily undermined by occasional setbacks.

Vicarious Experiences (Observational Learning)

Individuals also develop self-efficacy by observing others. Particularly, observing a model who is similar in age, education level, or gender succeed can foster the feeling “I can do it too.” Conversely, observing a model’s failure may lead individuals to doubt their own capabilities. This source is especially influential when an individual has little or no personal experience with the task at hand.

Verbal Persuasion

Encouragement and advice from people in one’s environment—such as family, friends, or colleagues—can influence an individual’s perception of self-efficacy. Individuals are motivated by persuasive messages from their surroundings. However, negative evaluations have a weakening effect on self-efficacy, and it is often easier to undermine a belief through negative persuasion than to strengthen it through positive persuasion.

Physiological and Emotional States

Conditions such as anxiety, stress, or physical well-being experienced while performing a task also affect self-efficacy judgments. High anxiety can reduce performance, while positive emotions enhance self-efficacy beliefs.

Dimensions of Self-Efficacy Assessment

Self-efficacy judgments are typically evaluated along three key dimensions:

• Level: The degree of difficulty an individual anticipates encountering when performing a specific task (e.g., easy, moderate, difficult).

• Magnitude: The strength of an individual’s belief that they can perform successfully under challenging conditions.

• Generality: The extent to which efficacy expectations can be applied across different situations.

Relationships and Distinctions from Related Concepts

Although self-efficacy is often associated with other psychological concepts, it is clearly distinct from them.

Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence

Self-esteem refers to an individual’s overall sense of worth and self-respect. Self-efficacy, by contrast, is not a general feeling of self-worth but a specific judgment about one’s ability to perform a particular task. For example, a worker may have low self-efficacy regarding training new staff but this need not affect their overall self-worth. Although the two concepts are related, self-efficacy is domain-specific, whereas self-esteem and self-confidence are viewed as more general and stable personality traits.

Self-Regulation

Self-regulation refers to an individual’s ability to influence, manage, and control their own behavior. Self-efficacy beliefs encourage the use of self-regulatory strategies such as goal setting, self-monitoring, and strategy application. Students with high self-efficacy tend to use self-regulatory learning strategies more effectively.

Self-Concept

Although self-concept is one of the closest concepts to self-efficacy, it is broader and more self-definitional in nature. Self-concept is measured by questions requiring self-evaluation such as “How good are you at math?” whereas self-efficacy focuses on performance-based expectations such as “How confident are you that you can solve this math problem?” Theorists have conceptualized self-concept as a hierarchical structure comprising general, academic, and domain-specific components.

Application Areas

The concept of self-efficacy has been widely studied across a broad range of fields, from education to health, sports to the workplace.

• Education: Education is a major field of research on self-efficacy.

• Teacher Self-Efficacy: This refers to teachers’ beliefs in their ability to influence student performance and behavior. Teachers with high self-efficacy are found to adopt student-centered methods, be more open to new ideas, and demonstrate greater perseverance in the face of challenges.

• Academic Self-Efficacy: This is a student’s belief in their ability to successfully complete a specific academic task. It is one of the affective dimensions influencing academic achievement. Students with high academic self-efficacy are more likely to be diligent, resilient in the face of difficulties, and to use cognitive strategies more frequently.

• Reading and Writing: Research shows that students who are confident in their reading and writing abilities exert more effort, persist longer, and achieve greater success. Self-efficacy is also one of the dimensions of reading motivation.

Enhancing Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Strengthening individuals’ self-efficacy beliefs produces positive effects on performance and motivation. Various strategies and approaches have been proposed for this purpose.

Goal Setting

Encouraging students to set achievable and specific goals, and providing feedback during the process of achieving them, can enhance motivation. Detailed goals also provide a foundation for self-evaluation.

Strategy Instruction and Modeling

Teaching students cognitive strategies and presenting models who use these strategies positively influences learning and motivation. Particularly, when teachers or successful peers serve as models, this supports both learning and motivation.

Feedback

Providing timely, specific, and individualized feedback on students’ successes helps them understand their progress and enhances their self-efficacy.

Successful Learning Experiences

Since successful task completion is the strongest source of self-efficacy, individuals should be given tasks that are appropriately challenging yet aligned with their capabilities to ensure they experience success. In particular, early successful experiences in learning to read significantly influence later achievements and attitudes toward reading.

Teaching Environment and Methods

Teaching should be organized according to students’ needs and individual differences. Methods such as cooperative learning and learning environments that allow students to plan their own activities contribute to the development of self-efficacy. Additionally, environmental factors such as the location of the school (village, town, city center) have been found to influence teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs.