What is self-efficacy? Self-efficacy in psychology

Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in his own abilities and efforts, the belief that they will definitely allow him to achieve his goal.

It should be noted that the concept of self-efficacy is fundamental in the theory of specialist Bandura.

In particular, he believed that mass or collective self-efficacy is a combination of a number of individual self-efficacies, each of which can manifest itself in different areas of an individual’s activity.

The level or state of self-efficacy determines a person’s subjective attitude towards the quality and productivity of his activities. Moreover, this very attitude is determined by a number of factors: existing development opportunities, internal reserves of the individual, the choice of specific solutions, the construction of further plans and activity strategies.

The role of self-efficacy

Almost all people can identify goals they want to achieve, things they would like to change, or events they would like to experience. However, most people also understand that putting these plans into practice is not quite that simple. Bandura et al have found that a person's self-efficacy plays an important role in how they approach goals, tasks, and problems.

People with a strong sense of self-efficacy:

See complex problems as tasks to be mastered.
Develop interest in the activities in which they participate.
Develop a strong sense of commitment to their interests and activities.
They quickly recover from defeats and disappointments.

People with a low sense of self-efficacy:

Avoid difficult tasks.
Believe that complex tasks and situations are beyond their abilities.
Focus on personal failures and negative results.
They quickly lose confidence in their personal abilities.

How does self-efficacy develop? These beliefs begin to develop in early childhood as children are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, challenges, and situations. However, growth in self-efficacy does not end in youth, but continues to develop throughout life as people acquire new skills, experiences, and knowledge.

Self-efficacy and its manifestation in gifted students

In the modern world, it is no secret to the younger generation that our future depends on how confident we are in ourselves. The higher our self-confidence, the higher the chance to build harmonious relationships with the people around us, to realize ourselves in our career, to receive recognition and moral satisfaction.

Each of us spends our time, energy, and resources every day for one thing - achieving our goals. But even the same goal is achieved by different people at different costs. In other words, when we talk about self-efficacy, we are talking about the perception of ourselves as effective, capable of achieving success, going through any difficulties in order to get the result we need. Our effectiveness depends on the experience accumulated in the process of personal development.

The concept of self-efficacy, first proposed by Stanford University (USA) professor A. Bandura in the late 1970s, has been actively developing over the past 25 years. According to Albert Bandura himself, “self-efficacy” is the belief in the effectiveness of one’s own actions and the expectation of success from their implementation. THAT. Gordeeva defines the concept of self-efficacy as follows: “Self-efficacy is how competent a person feels when performing a particular task” [2].

Bandura (1997) identifies four processes through which efficacy beliefs influence behavior to form self-efficacy:

1. The ability to build behavior. A. Bandura argues that the most important source of effectiveness is past experience of success and failure. That is, successful personal experience generates high expectations, and previous failures generate low expectations.

2. Indirect experience. Observing other people successfully constructing their behavior can give a person hope for self-efficacy.

3. Verbal persuasion. Efficacy can also be achieved or modified through a person's belief that he has the abilities necessary to achieve a goal.

4. Emotional uplift. Because people measure their level of performance against their level of emotional tension in stressful situations, any technique that reduces arousal will increase the prediction of performance.

A person’s self-efficacy is ensured by his ability to recognize his abilities and build behavior in relation to a specific task or situation. There are two types of self-efficacy - general self-efficacy and specific (private) self-efficacy. General self-efficacy consists of special self-efficacy that exists in various areas of human activity [1]. Special self-efficacy is self-efficacy in a specific area of knowledge (literature, music, mathematics). A person has many self-efficacy that are associated with various content areas [2].

Gordeeva T.O. considers self-efficacy as one of the components of the integrative structural-dynamic motivational model of giftedness, and understands giftedness as a phenomenon manifested in successful activities. The main functions of self-efficacy are to provide a sense of competence, the expectation of success in the chosen task and the confidence necessary to put forward bold ideas and hypotheses, choose difficult goals and persevere in achieving them [3].

Let's consider several life pictures that most clearly illustrate gifted young people with different levels of self-efficacy.

A gifted student who does not have a high level of self-efficacy. The modern world strictly dictates its own rules and, one can assume, young people who are unsure of themselves will have difficulty adapting to all the realities of social life. Their personality will constantly be depressed by the fact that they are “not capable of anything.” They can write a wonderful picture or play, however, in order to express their creative product, they need to realize their creative potential. Work and develop. Learn and gain experience from venerable colleagues. But such young people will constantly feel that they could do better, that their work is mediocre and no one is interested in it. Gradually, self-confidence disappears, the belief that the created creative product is something creative and unique, unlike what was created before. A young man lives in constant tension, in uncertainty associated with the expectation of failure, and this does not allow his personality to develop further, undermines his self-esteem, self-respect, and, therefore, the attitude of others towards him. And, ultimately, he may forget about his innate abilities, become one of those who gave up, stopped and did not overcome the obstacles on the path of his creative development. So the play can be put on the table “until better times”, and the picture can be hung on the wall in your own living room. Talent will not develop, being in the state of a sprout, it will not be able to turn into a flower.

A gifted student who feels effective.

He strives to develop in creativity and move forward. He is confident in himself and his abilities, he believes that he creates the best. However, young people’s exposure to criticism and other people’s opinions also plays an important role in the formation of self-efficacy. The more criticism, especially unconstructive criticism, comes from outside, the greater the likelihood that creative potential will not be fully realized or not realized at all. How many unrecognized geniuses the world knew in various fields of knowledge that were not understood by society.

A strong personality, without a doubt, will improve, hone his skills and abilities, and quench his thirst for creativity. She will do what she likes for herself, no matter if anyone else finds out about it. A weaker person will withdraw into himself, criticism from the outside will turn into excessive self-criticism, not beneficial, and having a destructive effect. And the same thing will happen as in the first case - the young man, not feeling the importance of his creativity, will extinguish the flame of talent in himself.

Thus:

1. A gifted student who does not have a high level of self-efficacy needs to increase its level in order to achieve success in creativity and realize his full potential. To do this, you must first of all increase the level of self-esteem and self-respect. And don’t stop working, learning, gaining experience, offering new, creative ideas. As Thomas Edison said: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

2. A gifted student who feels effective may sometimes not be understood by those around him, which threatens him to become an unrecognized genius who has ruined his individuality. It’s also important to work on yourself and your attitude towards your uniqueness. And, one of the most important points is to cultivate a healthy receptivity to criticism. Constructive criticism, just like self-criticism, is productive because it usually contains an indication of real mistakes, and, sometimes, recommendations on how to correct these mistakes. You should listen to her. The same cannot be said about unconstructive criticism, which takes away any desire to move forward in creativity.

Literature:

Bandura A. Social learning theory. – St. Petersburg: Eurasia, 2000
Gordeeva T. O, “Psychology of achievement motivation”
Gordeeva T.O. Motivational prerequisites for giftedness: from J. Renzulli’s model to the integrative model of motivation [Electronic resource] // Psychological Research: electronic. scientific magazine 2011. N 1(15). URL: https://psystudy.ru (access date: 11/14/2012)

Four main sources of self-efficacy:

Mastery Experience

“The most effective way to develop a strong sense of effectiveness is through the experience of mastery,” Bandura explained. Successfully completing a task strengthens our sense of self-efficacy. However, failure to adequately address a particular problem or task can undermine and weaken self-efficacy.

Social modeling

Seeing other people successfully complete tasks is another important source of self-efficacy. According to Bandura, “Seeing people who achieve success through constant effort creates a belief in the observer that he, too, has the ability to learn the skill to achieve success.”

Social Beliefs

Bandura also stated that people can be convinced that they have the necessary skills and opportunities to succeed. Think back to a time when someone told you positive and encouraging words that helped you achieve your goal. Receiving verbal encouragement from others helps people overcome self-doubt and focus maximum effort on the task at hand.

Psychological answers

Our own emotional reactions to situations also play an important role in self-efficacy. Moods, emotional states, physical reactions, and stress levels can influence how a person feels about their abilities in a particular situation. A person who becomes extremely nervous before speaking in public may develop a poor sense of self-efficacy in these situations.

However, Bandura also Fr. By learning how to minimize stress and improve mood when faced with difficult or challenging tasks, people can improve their sense of self-efficacy.

Researchers have found a strong link between self-efficacy and success. If you believe that you can achieve a goal, then you are more likely to achieve it. Your negative or positive beliefs about your endeavor can predict your success.

Self-efficacy may seem to be about having confidence in yourself. These two concepts are interrelated, but they are not the same thing. Self-efficacy refers to a specific goal, like giving up dessert or participating in a workout. Self-confidence refers to how you feel about yourself in general. Increasing your self-efficacy can help you achieve your goals and increase your confidence.

A. Bandura's theory of self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is the feeling of being competent in a particular activity.

How does a person assess how successful he is in psychology, in solving algebra problems, in figure skating? This parameter is not a personality trait, it is a cognitive formation that affects achievement motivation, as it were, contributes to motivation and, accordingly, to behavior.

How self-efficacy is formed:

1) From the experience of my own successes

. If a person has seen a positive result in some activity, then the experience of success in this activity accumulates, and self-efficacy is formed.

2) Observing other people's achievements

also contributes. If he sees others being unsuccessful in this activity, it will lower his self-efficacy.

3) Verbal Persuasion

is another component that contributes to self-efficacy.
A mother can convince a child before a math test ( the status of the speaker is important - authority
) that he is successful, but for this belief to work it must be based on previous results (he must have not only bad marks for previous tests). He understands that his mother loves him - he can deceive him in this case, but he simply speaks to cheer him up, etc.

4) It must be within the limits of real possibilities

. When a child understands that something is beyond his power, then persuasion will not work.

5) Feedback from the emotional and physiological state also forms self-efficacy. Now, for example, if a person feels calm or, conversely, in a state of elation, with a thirst for activity, this will increase self-efficacy. If he feels weak, sick and tired, he will lower it. Emotional stress and other anxieties and fears lead to a decrease in self-efficacy.

Self-efficacy is measured before performing the activity. For self-efficacy, it is not comparison with others that is important, but the use of the criterion of mastery and competence in relation to another person is a private characteristic. It depends on the specific type of activity. A person can have a lot of effectiveness in different areas and feel very effective in one area and very ineffective in another. “I know geometry, but I don’t know geography,” the man says to himself. It is not a personality trait, but a specific construct that will influence specific motivation and specific behavior. The most confident students do worse in exam preparation than their more anxious and equally capable peers. If we equate the group in terms of knowledge and level of intelligence, then this indicator of self-efficacy will be a predictor - it will help predict success or failure in the exam. It is best to have moderate, but not excessively high, or extremely low self-efficacy. The research on excessive lows and how it negatively affects mental health and performance in specific activities is clear and obvious.

Four ways to boost your self-confidence

Set and achieve small goals.

Set small and short-term goals to become more confident when you successfully achieve those goals. Then, as each task is completed, it acts as a stepping stone to achieving the larger goal.

For example, your ultimate goal might be a weight loss of 20 kilograms. But you can break it down into several smaller goals. You may decide to skip dessert to cut down on calories. Every day that you skip dessert, you build confidence in your ability to achieve your goal. Increasing self-efficacy helps keep you on track to achieve your goal.

Surround yourself with positive messages.

If people around you are successfully achieving a goal you want to achieve, you are more likely to believe that you can do it too. Find friends who have habits you admire.

If you want to lose weight, then spend your lunch break with people who eat healthy food. Go to the gym with friends.

You can also surround yourself with positive messages electronically. Sign up for newsletters from trainers about weight loss and successful health-focused diets.

Get social support.

Seek help from the people who matter most to you. Tell them about the goal you are trying to achieve and let them know that their encouragement and positive messages matter. Make it a habit to acknowledge and accept the compliments you receive from them.

Your friends and family can support you. Research has found that positive messages sent electronically can also help people achieve their goals.

Learn to relax.

If you have intense emotional reactions to situations, your self-efficacy regarding your ability to cope with that situation is likely to be low. It will take some time to identify the situations that cause you to react strongly. Then, learn relaxation techniques that will help you return to a calm emotional state.

Increasing self-efficacy to build confidence is a process that takes time. But you can take small steps every day. As you become more aware of your thoughts and beliefs, the process will become simpler and it will become easier to achieve your goal and become stronger and more confident.

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Self-efficacy - concept, personal, self-control, in psychology

Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in his own abilities and efforts, the belief that they will definitely allow him to achieve his goal.
It should be noted that the concept of self-efficacy is fundamental in the theory of specialist Bandura.

Personal self-efficacy

A particular individual’s belief in his own capabilities, as well as his ability to cope with a particular type of activity, is a characteristic that in psychology has acquired the term “personal self-efficacy.” Of all the existing possible classifications, the division of this characteristic into self-efficacy in communication or self-efficacy in activity has become widespread.

During communication, this personality trait manifests itself in the form of the subject’s conviction of his sufficient competence regarding the topic of conversation.

That is, it implies a person’s confidence that he can act as a more than adequate and suitable communicator during a conversation, will be able to listen to the interlocutor and maintain the dialogue at the proper level.

Accordingly, self-efficacy in activity is an individual’s belief in his ability to demonstrate the proper skills and experience in a particular intended type of activity.

It is noteworthy that this form of belief in one’s personal success is never devoid of objectivity, since it comes from the internal “sources” of consciousness.

These include, among others, achievements at various levels and in any area of life that an individual has already achieved.

In other words, self-efficacy is based on a person’s actual progress in self-realization and self-improvement.

Social modeling can also be a significant method for creating self-efficacy.

The bottom line is that the motivation for increasing self-efficacy can be observation of the activities of other subjects who somehow remind the individual of himself.

Contemplation of someone else's success in upcoming activities can become the basis for convincing one to realize one's own strengths.

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Self-efficacy from a psychological perspective

Self-efficacy from the point of view of psychology is a stable feeling of subjective effectiveness and competence in a specific issue or area of life or activity.

This term was first developed and introduced by the American specialist A.

Banudra, denoting by it a person’s ability to sense personal skills, the ability to cope with a specific set of conditions and emerging tasks, situations that develop throughout life.

At the moment, Bandura's theory is widespread among other specialists. It is based on the concept of the individual's lack of faith in the effectiveness and any effectiveness of his skills. The absence of such faith would lead to serious behavioral disturbances.

This theory raises the question of the scope of the concept of self-efficacy, emphasizing the fact that it represents the behavioral competence of the subject as a whole.

In other words, it is a person’s confidence in his ability to demonstrate the most optimal behavior in any difficult situation.

However, it should be understood that the likelihood of success in a particular activity depends not only on a person’s personal competence. Thus, an individual who has high self-efficacy and has realized the effectiveness of his methods puts much more effort and concentration into the tasks he performs.

If self-efficacy is insufficient, or even completely absent, the opposite picture is observed - really low activity and productivity, a decline in motivation, which are caused by distrust in one’s own capabilities and skills.

A person with high self-efficacy also changes on an individual level, perceiving obstacles or even failures that arise in front of him as a challenge or test.

That is, self-efficacy is also the main source of sustainable and ongoing motivation.

In addition, there are various sources of growth and development of self-efficacy. Of course, the main and, perhaps, most important is the fact of personal success and achievements in the past. Any experience of successfully achieving a goal should be considered the foundation of self-efficacy.

Setting a goal, doing everything possible and impossible, achieving your goal - this is what allows you to feel successful and as confident as possible in your own abilities.

Such growth is possible only under the condition of active activity and determination, when self-confidence not only arises, but also becomes stable.

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Self-control

It is widely believed that self-control is an indicator of a strong individuality. However, this opinion is wrong.

For example, if such a person intends to demonstrate control over himself and show emotions that he does not experience at all (or suppress negative emotions), then he will only waste a number of his internal forces.

If we consider self-control from this particular position, then it becomes an indicator of a subject with low endurance.

At the same time, faith in one’s own skills and strengths contributes to the development of self-control, which subsequently increases self-efficacy.

This is the fact that self-control and self-efficacy, despite the obvious differences between them, still have common features.

If we simplify this relationship, we can say that the development of self-control leads to an increase in one’s own effectiveness, since it creates in the individual a feeling of not only control over oneself, but also belief in it. That he can take control of the situation around him.

It should not be forgotten that an optimistic attitude towards oneself, as a competent person fully capable of success, is not only the key to very real success, but also to personal health, a sense of satisfaction and happiness. Such a person is at a much lower risk of developing apathy or depressive disorders, is less anxious and more persistent in implementing his plans and thinking through strategies for success.

Source: //PsyTheater.com/ponyatie-samoeffektivnosti.html