Running Head: WEEK 1

WEEK 1

Week 1 Project

topic: Social Psychology of Self-efficacy

Social Psychology of Self-efficacy

Introduction:

My research topic is the social psychology of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is referred to the belief an individual has in their capacity to execute a plan according to a situation. Self-efficacy has recently emerged as a broad topic based on the issues of human mastery, control, agency, and competence. Self-efficacy has earned a fixed spot in human social psychology as it is highly associated with several favorable consequences especially human physical and emotional health (Maddux, 2012). Albert Bandura first coined the term self-efficacy in 1977 and described it depends on four main sources of influence. These four sources that develop a positive self-efficacy in a person are Mastery Experiences, Vicarious Experiences, Social Persuasion, and Psychological and Emotional states.

1. Mastery Experiences: 

Mastery Experience or Performance Outcomes is the most influential source of developing self-efficacy. Every time a person takes on a new challenge and succeeds at it, the performance outcome is positive. When a person succeeds at a relatively new and difficult task, it builds a robust belief in his efficacy. Failures, however, achieve the opposite result, especially if the failure happens before a firm self-efficacy sense has been established. Another aspect of this phenomenon is that although a person is not aware of the outcome of the task at hand, he is constantly teaching himself throughout the process that he is capable of acquiring and utilizing new skills. This positive thought process – which one is capable to learn and achieve new things builds self-confidence and inculcates self-efficacy because a major part of achieving anything is believing that you can. 

2. Vicarious Experiences:

Vicarious experience refers to the phenomenon of having social role models and closely associating with them. Bandura (1977) explained how when a person sees other people who possess the same traits and skill set succeed by continuous effort, it raises his belief in his abilities and instills the courage to make sustained effort to succeed at comparable activities. Vicarious experience refers to closely observing others completing their tasks. By having healthy role models (people with healthy levels of self-efficacy), a person can easily absorb some of those positive traits that help him develop healthy self-efficacy as well. Social role models include a teacher, counselor, older sibling, or ideal. 

3. Social Persuasion:

Social persuasion is about receiving positive verbal feedback after a person undertakes a complex task. This reaffirmation instills the confidence in the person that he possesses great capabilities and can achieve similar tasks in the future too. Redmond (2010) explained how self-efficacy relies on the encouragement and discouragement an individual received on his performance. For instance, if a person tells an elementary school student that he is capable of achieving great things, and if he sets his mind and heart into something – he will surely succeed at it, then this is an example of positive social persuasion in action (Krause, 2014). Although verbal persuasion works at all ages, the more positive outcome is when it is administered at an early age and helps in building healthy self-efficacy.

4. Psychological States:

The personal abilities of a person in particular situations are highly influenced by their emotional, physical, and psychological well-being. For instance, when a person is struggling with depression or anxiety, it becomes difficult for them to have a healthy level of well-being. However, it is not impossible to build healthy self-efficacy while suffering from any emotional, physical, or psychological problems. Nevertheless, it is much more convenient to build healthy self-efficacy if a person does not have either of the above-mentioned issues at hand. Self-efficacy is of particular interest to me because it studies and explains human social behavior in detail and what impacts his self-perception. Positive self-perception and external encouragement lead to the development of healthy self-efficacy, which leads to that person achieving greater things in life. Apart from social psychology, self-efficacy has received increased attention in various disciplines including the educational sector. Self-efficacy research overlaps diverse areas such as phobias, social skills, depression, and addiction, which are a few of the most prominent social issues (Livinƫi, 2021). 

References

Maddux, J. E., & Gosselin, J. T. (2012). Self-efficacy. The Guilford Press.

Krause, J. M., & Benavidez, E. A. (2014). Potential influences of exergaming on self-efficacy for physical activity and sport. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 85(4), 15-20.

Livinƫi, R., Gunnesch-Luca, G., & Iliescu, D. (2021). Research self-efficacy: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychologist, 56(3), 215-242.

Running Head: LR

Literature Review part 1

Summary:

1. The concept of self-efficacy was first introduced in the late 90s by Bandura, who described it as an ability to believe in oneself and his or her ability to successfully finish the tasks required to achieve one’s goals. According to Bandura, self-efficacy has more to do with a person’s confidence in his abilities than his actual abilities. Positive self-efficacy has proven to be effective in positive behavioral outcomes. So far, self-efficacy has been treated more as domain-specific rather than an omnibus. Domain-specific efficacy is associated with a specific matter, such as work or job efficacy. However, generalized self-efficacy is a person’s belief that he or she can do anything in life and succeed at it. But Bandura believes generalized terms of self-efficacy lack depth and explanatory power. Furthermore, data from different government sectors were collected to deeply analyze the hypothesis and study the relations between generalized self-efficacy and learning. The structural equation model supported this hypothesis (Elias et al., 2013).

2. Self-efficacy has more to do with a person’s belief in himself than his actual abilities and potential. The term “perceived self-efficacy” accurately describes this phenomenon. The perception people have about their abilities is basically a coping mechanism, which has different underlying behavioral changes. Three questions are often asked when it comes to the discussion of perceived self-efficacy. First, is, are self-efficacy perceptions generalized in all situations? The answer to this question is that in idiosyncratic sets of situations, perceived self-efficacy is generalized, especially when these situations are associated with schematic personal attributes. The second question is that does perceive self-efficacy is influenced by affective states? Its answer is that, yes, different states do affect self-efficacy in different ways. For instance, the negative mood does not highly influence self-efficacy but leads to the creation of elevation of efficacy standards, either by raising performance standards or similar attributes. The third question following these two is that is there in a given domain, is the level of self-efficacy always singular or multiple? It was discovered by research that different levels of self-efficacy are recognized by distinguishing the self-efficacy on the basis of attainment of goals and executing certain strategies (Cervone, 2000).

Analysis:

1. Social psychology is one of the most widely studied and broad disciplines. It holds a crucial place in the education sector as it studies human behavior and different factors and their influence on it. Similarly, self-efficacy is a relatively new term that differs from self-esteem, and it was studied and coined by Bandura in the late 90s. Self-efficacy deals with a person’s confidence in his or her abilities and how much capable he or she considers themselves to be to achieve a certain task. In this article, the importance of self-efficacy was described and how there are different types of self-efficacies that are not realized in psychological studies. One type is domain-specific self-efficacy, in which an employee feels confident about his job. He reassures himself that whatever task he is assigned, he will complete it successfully. Then there is another type, called generalized self-efficacy, which is the phenomenon when a person generally feels confident about all the things they can potentially come across in life. To him, he can succeed at whatever task he does. 

2. Depending on the circumstances, self-efficacy is categorized into different types. The human psyche is a complex phenomenon and cannot be studied or summarized in simpler terms. On the basis of the domain, perceived self-efficacy depends on two distinct factors; whether the person in question is going to achieve a goal or execute a plan. Humans have a unique trait of studying their environment thoroughly and then moving accordingly. If a person possesses perceived self-efficacy and he has to achieve a goal, he thinks differently and views his abilities on the successful side of the spectrum. The achievement becomes highly possible for him, which then changes his entire outlook on the whole situation. Similarly, if he has to execute a complicated plan, he takes a different move. His brain functions differently, and he calculates his ability in a different light.