Article

Dynamics in the self-efficacy–performance relationship following failure

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the author.

Abstract

In the current study, we empirically examined the proposition that failure experiences (a) alter the nature of the relationship between self-efficacy and performance and (b) shape the trajectory of self-efficacy over time. Participants (N = 128 young adult males) were randomly assigned to an induced failure or a control condition where they completed five sessions of a complex computer-based performance task, each preceded by a measure of self-efficacy. Multiple group discontinuous latent growth modeling (MGLGM) and piecewise hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) were used to compare similarities and differences across conditions in the self-efficacy–performance relationship and in the trajectory of self-efficacy over time. The findings showed that self-efficacy decreased immediately following induced failure; an effect that endured in later performance sessions, even after typical performance levels had recovered. Within-person (i.e., intra-individual) self-efficacy was negatively related to performance in the control condition, yet was unrelated to performance in the failure condition. Furthermore, the self-efficacy–performance relationship was dynamic such that between-person (i.e., inter-individual) self-efficacy was positively related to the trajectory of performance following failure, even when controlling for the effects of prior performance and task-related experience. These results suggest that failure experiences can fundamentally alter the form and direction of the self-efficacy–performance relationship.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.

... However, we lack an understanding of how self-efficacy itself develops and changes within the working day and how such changes can be explained. Most empirical research on within-person changes has focused on experimental laboratory studies with non-working samples (Hardy, 2014;Sitzmann & Yeo, 2013;Vancouver et al., 2002), training intervention studies (e.g., Latham & Budworth, 2006), or dynamic changes in self-efficacy and performance over longer periods of time (Gielnik et al., 2020). For instance, in a randomized experimental study involving undergraduate students, Hardy (2014) found that the induction of failure experiences in a complex performance task resulted in an immediate reduction in participants' self-efficacy. ...
... Most empirical research on within-person changes has focused on experimental laboratory studies with non-working samples (Hardy, 2014;Sitzmann & Yeo, 2013;Vancouver et al., 2002), training intervention studies (e.g., Latham & Budworth, 2006), or dynamic changes in self-efficacy and performance over longer periods of time (Gielnik et al., 2020). For instance, in a randomized experimental study involving undergraduate students, Hardy (2014) found that the induction of failure experiences in a complex performance task resulted in an immediate reduction in participants' self-efficacy. Gielnik et al. (2020) conducted a longitudinal study on entrepreneurial selfefficacy in nascent entrepreneurs. ...
... In contrast, the disruption of goal pursuit is an unfavourable experience that is associated with negative affect and fatigue (e.g., Zohar et al., 2003). Based on the literature on the impact of past enactive mastery experiences on self-efficacy, low goal attainment may be perceived as a failure that can impede employees' beliefs in their capability to perform successfully in the future (Hardy, 2014). This notion is further supported by theoretical arguments regarding the consequences of individual underperformance. ...
Article
Full-text available
Work-related self-efficacy has been found to predict outcomes such as daily work motivation and performance. However, the way in which self-efficacy changes within workdays and how such changes emerge remain unclear. This study integrates research on work events with a self-regulation perspective to explain changes in daily self-efficacy. We argue that negative events hamper daily goal attainment, reducing employees’ self-efficacy. We also investigate differences in employees’ reactivity to negative events, assuming that the strength of the indirect effect differs based on their ability to self-regulate in threatening and demanding situations (indicated by threat- and demand-related action orientation) and to make autonomous decisions (indicated by job autonomy). The model was tested in a diary study across five workdays (N = 101 individuals). The findings indicate that decreased goal attainment explains impairments in self-efficacy on days with more negative events. The negative relationship was stronger for employees with lower demand-related action orientation. However, the indirect effect was not contingent on threat-related action orientation and job autonomy. Our findings contribute to the self-efficacy literature and the growing research on work events by providing knowledge regarding the mechanisms and conditions that can partially explain how and when negative work events reduce employees’ daily self-efficacy.
... When students perform poorly in foundational courses, it may impact their belief in their capability to continue in their majors (Koch & Pistilli, 2015;Lewis & Terry, 2016). For example, dismal academic performances could hurt a student's self-worth and belief in their ability to complete an engineering degree program (Hardy, 2014). Similarly, underwhelming academic performance can deflate students' self-efficacy for learning, negatively affect their motivation and self-regulated learning behaviors, and their academic resilience (Hardy, 2014;Martin, 2013). ...
... For example, dismal academic performances could hurt a student's self-worth and belief in their ability to complete an engineering degree program (Hardy, 2014). Similarly, underwhelming academic performance can deflate students' self-efficacy for learning, negatively affect their motivation and self-regulated learning behaviors, and their academic resilience (Hardy, 2014;Martin, 2013). ...
Article
Full-text available
Student persistence in undergraduate engineering majors often depends on how they perform in foundational engineering courses. Although mastery of prerequisite knowledge affects how students perform in these courses, research suggests that achievement goal orientations and task‐value and self‐efficacy beliefs play prominent roles in predicting students' achievement. Drawing on achievement goal, expectancy‐value, and self‐efficacy theories, this study explores the relationships and relative predictive significance of students' achievement goal orientations and task‐value and self‐efficacy beliefs on academic achievement when prior knowledge and class attendance in a foundational engineering course were accounted for. Participants were students enrolled in engineering statics at a primarily White institution. A multiple regression analysis was conducted using achievement goals, self‐efficacy for learning performance, task value, absence, and prior knowledge as predictor variables, and participants' achievement scores as the outcome variable. Positive relationships were observed between the different achievement goal constructs. The final regression model explained 50% of the variance in participants' achievement scores. Self‐efficacy and task‐value belief effects remained significant predictors of achievement, even after prior knowledge and regular class attendance were considered. Further, the combined effect of self‐efficacy and task‐value beliefs on achievement was larger than that of prior knowledge alone. Pedagogical approaches that seek to improve engineering students' task‐value and self‐efficacy beliefs may be more efficacious at promoting achievement than those that focus on fostering achievement goal orientations. Instructors should consider such approaches along with those that effectively address differences in prior knowledge in foundational engineering courses.
... It may negatively relate to performance, for example, if people become overconfident and reduce or misdirect their subsequent efforts. This can occur, for example, when people's tasks are ambiguous, they lack feedback about their progress, or they do not experience an optimal level of failure to keep motivation high (Beattie, Woodman, Fakehy, & Dempsey, 2016;Hardy, 2014). Although the self-efficacy-performance relationship requires further exploration, scholars generally agree that self-efficacy has at least an indirect effect on performance through, for example, choice of goal level, planning, attention, resource allocation, and persistence (Sitzmann & Yeo, 2013)-all of which are particularly relevant to this review of factors affecting women's leadership aspirations. ...
... Women, however, are more likely than men to receive patronizing feedback that is less challenging, less tied to business outcomes, and less critical of performance. As discussed above, a lack of accurate feedback about one's progress toward goals can lead to overconfidence and diminished effort to correct deficiencies (Beattie et al., 2016;Hardy, 2014). On the other hand, women are more likely to receive feedback that is critical of communication style and interpersonal, nontask related behavior (Bear et al., 2017;Correl & Simard, 2010). ...
Article
Full-text available
Many efforts to close the persistent gender gap in corporate American’s leadership have approached women as deficient men in need of fixing. Taking a different approach, this paper seeks to shed light on how features of male-dominated work cultures—which remain common in corporate America—may deflate women’s motivation to strive for leadership roles. The inquiry is guided by social cognitive career theory (SCCT), which is a vocational psychology theory founded on the expectancy-value model of motivation. Consistent with that model, SCCT proposes that people will not pursue career goals (such as leadership) that they perceive as unfeasible. Perceptions of feasibility are shaped by work culture. And the most dominate transmitter of workplace culture is other people, including leaders, supervisors, mentors, and colleagues. Such social agents of the work culture can powerfully impact women’s expectancies about leadership through at least three social psychology-based mechanisms: relational efficacy beliefs, expectations states, and social identity threat. The review examines how these mechanisms operate through four common features of male-dominated work cultures (prevalent gender bias, an all-male leadership tier, failure to identify and develop women as leaders, and inadequate mentors and sponsors) to negatively impact women’s beliefs about the feasibility of achieving leadership positions. The result of such lowered expectancies is that women may refrain from even trying for leadership positions, if not leave their organizations altogether. The review concludes by offering potential next steps for research and intervention-development.
... Although some studies have shown that music students are nurtured and empowered by their teachers' beliefs in them in a general sense (Clemmons, 2007) and in regard to self-efficacy belief more specifically (J. C. Clark, 2013;Lewis, 2018), other studies outside of the musical domain have shown that ambiguity related to expectations and evaluations contributes to a negative self-efficacy effect (Hardy, 2014;Schmidt & DeShon, 2010). Self-efficacy belief is shaped by social cues in the educational context where the task is being developed (Greene, 2018). ...
... It is reasonable that participants perceived positive belief from teachers as belief-enhancing because a teacher's communication of belief has been shown to help students in music and other domains persist despite feelings of self-doubt (Fryling, 2015); influence performance ability and general self-belief (Butz & Usher, 2015;Conway et al., 2010;Royo, 2014); and influence students' attitudes, confidence, and success (Duke & Henninger, 2002). Additional verbal/social methods outlined by the participants, supported in the literature, are high expectations (Clemmons, 2007); clear, personalized instruction (Ericsson et al., 1993); constructive, detailed feedback (Hardy, 2014;Schmidt & DeShon, 2010); and nonverbal cues (Levasseur, 1994). ...
Article
Full-text available
Self-efficacy belief is a strong predictor of successful performance. Developmental differences in the acquisition of self-beliefs have been attributed to myriad individual and contextual factors, including teacher influence. The aim of this mixed-method study was to examine collegiate music students’ perceptions of teaching methods that strengthened or weakened music performance belief. A questionnaire was sent to music students enrolled in their third or fourth years of highly competitive collegiate music programs in the United States ( N = 83). Analysis of variance revealed that students who reported studying with a teacher who “influenced them to become greater than they imagined possible” indicated significantly higher music performance self-efficacy beliefs than those who had not. Participants most frequently mentioned belief-enhancing methods associated with verbal/social persuasion (e.g., demonstrated belief in student potential, encouragement, high expectations, accountability, and personalized, logical instruction). Reported mastery experience methods were frequently coupled with verbal/social persuasion and encompassed a collaborative approach to selecting repertoire, tools for self-analysis and practice maximization, opportunities and encouragement to perform often, and goal setting. Over one in three participants conveyed studying with a teacher who “influenced them to become a weaker performer,” highlighting the need to educate music teachers in belief-enhancing pedagogical practices.
... people's self-efficacy (Beattie et al., 2011). And these effects will endure in later performance (Hardy, 2014). For 15 these reasons, self-efficacy becomes a critical factor in the relationship between PE and RDBs. ...
... Past success raises self-efficacy, while failure lowers 30 it. Also, the effects of success or failure on self-efficacy will endure in later performance (Hardy, 2014). More 31 importantly, prior behavioral performance has an important causal influence on changes in self-efficacy (e.g., 32 Heggestad (Vavrik, 1997). ...
Article
Full-text available
Many countries have adopted penalty point systems (PPS) to deter drivers from breaking traffic laws. To investigate the effectiveness of PPS on reducing illegal driving behavior, this study analyzed traffic violation data of a Chinese city in 2017. This analysis revealed that 1) risky driving behaviors (RDBs) are among the main causes of traffic violations and 2) almost half of the offenders with multiple violations committed the same traffic rule violations more than once. To further explain these phenomena, a survey in another Chinese city–Tianjin–was conducted. Considering the fact that most types of RDBs will, if detected by the authorities, result in traffic violations, the present study investigated the influence of a PPS, represented by penalty experience (PE), on traffic violation behaviors from the perspective of RDBs. Moreover, the impact of cognitive processes on driving behaviors via self-efficacy was considered. We found that drivers’ PE is positively associated with their RDBs and that offenders with more PE are more inclined to commit RDBs; we further observed that self-efficacy partially mediates the relationship between PE and RDBs. However, no gender difference in the effect of PE on RDBs was discovered, thus indicating that PE has the same effect on male and female drivers. Based on these findings, some strategies are suggested (such as the Increasing Block Penalty Points Policy) to improve the effectiveness of the PPS.
... It is often supported that general self-efficacy influences task performance, but there is a growing interest in the inverse of this relationship-the influence of task performance on general self-efficacy (Hardy, 2014;Sitzmann & Yeo, 2013;Vancouver & Purl, 2016). Some support has been provided for this inverse relationship, but authors have expressed uncertainty regarding whether this relationship holds across various conditions and methodological designs. ...
... These results also have implications regarding the sophistication of theory surrounding withinperson changes in self-efficacy (Hardy, 2014;Sitzmann & Yeo, 2013;Vancouver & Purl, 2016). These results suggest that the relationship is bidirectional; self-efficacy influences task performance, but task performance also influences self-efficacy. ...
Article
Full-text available
The current article tests whether task performance influences general self-efficacy without increases in the skills required to achieve success. To do so, an experimental design is applied in which participants predict a random future event, and the relationship between prediction task performance and self-efficacy is observed. This article also tests whether this specific performance/self-efficacy relationship is moderated by (a) perceived illegitimacy of predicting the future and (b) self-assessed ability to predict the future. The results show that prediction task performance indeed influences general self-efficacy, and neither of these two moderators has a significant effect on this relationship. Therefore, performance on a low-stakes task does influence general self-efficacy—at least temporarily. More importantly, task performance is shown to influence self-efficacy even without increases in the skills required to achieve success.
... Self-efficacy merupakan fokus filosofi pembelajaran sosial, yang menarangkan sikap orang lewat hubungan kausal timbal balik antara karakter individu, faktor lingkungan, serta sikap [20]; [21]; [22]. Bandura, seseorang pakar filosofi pengajian pengkajian sosial, menerangkan jika self-efficacy merupakan" keyakinan pada keahlian seorang untuk menata serta melakukan tindakan yang dibutuhkan guna menciptakan hasil tertentu" [23]. ...
Article
Full-text available
In the digital era which is full of rapid changes and complex challenges, success in the world of entrepreneurship is not only determined by technical knowledge and skills, but also by psychological factors. The entrepreneurial spirit is very important economically and socially so that entrepreneurship is very important both economically and socially. One of the factors driving the entrepreneurial spirit in the digital era is self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is essential for the willingness to act entrepreneurially, to identify and seize opportunities. Self-efficacy plays an important role in building an entrepreneurial spirit. The method for writing this article adopts the literature review method, articles sourced from the Google Scholar, elsevier, tanfonline platforms. In an effort to improve the entrepreneurial spirit in the digital era, contributions from the world of education are needed, so that educational programs can influence individuals' self-efficacy and self-confidence, supporting them to try, learn, and persist in pursuing an entrepreneurial future. Thus, individuals who have high self-efficacy regarding entrepreneurship will have high self-confidence, thereby triggering enthusiasm to become someone who has an entrepreneurial spirit.
... In general, experiences of success are likely to increase self-efficacy, and experiences of failure to reduce self-efficacy (Bandura 1977). However, both the timing of the failure and the perception of the failure as arbitrary influence its impact (Hardy 2014). Feelings of self-efficacy may also develop from observing that other people succeed or fail at a task, which is called vicarious experience (Bandura 1997, pp. ...
Article
Full-text available
Many studies point to the relevance of school leaders' self-efficacy for the successful organisation and management of schools. However, to date, there are only a few findings on which factors have a positive influence on this characteristic. This study therefore examines the extent to which the use of formal and informal learning opportunities, in addition to the antecedents mentioned by Bandura (mastery experience, vicarious experience , social persuasion, physiological and emotional states), have a direct positive effect on school leaders' innovation-related self-efficacy, as well as an indirect effect on self-efficacy mediated by mastery experience. Analyses of a survey with a representative sample of N = 405 school leaders in Germany using structural equation models confirmed the effect of mastery experience (i.e. perceived achievement), vicarious experience (i.e. encouragement from a team), and emotional states (i.e. exhaustion) on school leaders' self-efficacy. Regarding professional development, the analyses revealed a direct positive effect of participation in university training and professional learning networks, which were not mediated by mastery experience. Our results demonstrate the value of leadership preparation programmes that enable the participants to explore different work-related tasks and promote feelings of mastery, as well as the importance of team coherency and potential value of distributed work. ARTICLE HISTORY
... In general, experiences of success are likely to increase self-efficacy, and experiences of failure reduce self-efficacy (Bandura 1977). However, both the timing of the failure and the perception of the failure as arbitrary influence its impact (Hardy III 2014). ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Many studies point to the relevance of school leaders' self-efficacy for the successful organization and management of schools. However, to date there are only a few findings on which factors have a positive influence on this characteristic. This study therefore examines the extent to which the use of formal and informal learning opportunities, in addition to the antecedents mentioned by Bandura (mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion, physiological and emotional states), have a direct positive effect on the school leaders' innovation-related self-efficacy, as well as an indirect effect on self-efficacy mediated by mastery experience. Analyses of a survey with a representative sample of N=405 school leaders in Germany using structural equation models confirmed the effect of mastery experience (i.e., perceived achievement), vicarious experience (i.e., encouragement from team), and emotional states (i.e., exhaustion) on school leaders’ self-efficacy. Regarding professional development, the analyses revealed a direct positive effect of participation in university training and professional learning networks, which were not mediated by mastery experience. Our results demonstrate the value of leadership preparation programs that enable the participants to explore different work-related tasks and promote feelings of mastery, as well as the importance of team coherency and potential value of distributed work.
... Nonetheless, this conclusion is primarily based on Badura's assumption that an individual who has already demonstrated proficiency in a task is more likely to perceive themselves as competent, which in turn leads to the effects empirically investigated in our study. Consequently, to investigate and prove the existence of such efficiency-performance spirals in more detail, it would be beneficial to collect longitudinal data, particularly given that studies (Hardy III, 2014;Lindsley et al., 1995) have demonstrated that failure may result in a decline in self-efficacy, indicating that not only gain spirals but also loose spirals are possible. Thus, we suggest that future research replicates our study by surveying the views of others instead of only the school leaders and collecting data longitudinally. ...
Article
Full-text available
Leadership for learning has emerged as a holistic leadership behaviour that combines aspects of instructional leadership, transformational leadership and shared leadership. Little is known about how this type of leadership develops and what antecedents are important. Following the rationales of Social Cognitive (Career) Theory and applying Chan and Drasgow’s leader development model, we examine how leadership mastery experience and leader self-efficacy affect leadership for learning in Nigerian schools. We divide leaders’ self-efficacy into the belief that they have the necessary skills and abilities to be successful as leaders (leader self-regulatory self-efficacy) and the belief that the actions they take as leaders will have the desired effect (leader action self-efficacy). Using structural equation modelling, our results show that both leadership mastery experience and leader self-efficacy are relevant antecedents of leadership for learning, with selfefficacy mediating the effects of experience on leadership. Our results suggest efficiency–performance spirals and illustrate how important it is for the enactment of leadership for learning to believe in one’s ability to competently perform various critical leadership actions.
... This can overload them with exercises and lead to burnout (Guo, 2022). Poor academic performance, which refers to challenging English tasks and academic failure, may also result in burnout, as students' self-efficacy may be undermined when the difficulty of tasks surpasses their ability and failure experiences in EFL learning accumulate (Hardy Iii, 2014;Ma et al., 2018). Reduced efficacy is one of the components of burnout . ...
Article
Full-text available
Burnout impairs English as a foreign language (EFL) learning, while engagement enhances it. However, most relevant studies have focused on college students, neglecting senior high school students. To address this gap, this mixed-methods study used two scales to assess the levels of burnout and engagement among 1234 Chinese senior high school EFL students. We also applied a person-centered approach with a statistical software (Mplus 8.7) to identify their latent profiles. Then, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 students and analyzed the data using thematic analysis with a qualitative software (MAXQDA 2022) to investigate the antecedents of their burnout and engagement. The statistical analysis revealed three profiles: high burnout-low engagement (16.0%), moderate burnout-moderate engagement (61.8%), and low burnout-high engagement (22.2%). The profiles were associated with demographic characteristics such as gender, age, and grade. The thematic analysis identified four major antecedents: high academic stress and low academic support for burnout, and high external support and high internal support for engagement. Each major antecedent consisted of several categories and subcategories. This study could inform the design of effective interventions to reduce Chinese EFL students’ burnout and increase their engagement.
... According to Bandura (Bandura 1977(Bandura , 2012, the most significant predictor for self-efficacy degree is previous performance in similar tasks. Namely, a previous success or failure in related tasks has a major effect on one's future self-efficacy level, a finding that was replicated in various studies (Smith et al. 2006;Hardy 2014). Hence, although unintentionally, our manipulation involved a failure experience to participants in the active game VR condition, which overshadowed the benefits that enjoyable PA or engagement might contribute to participant's levels of self-efficacy. ...
Article
Full-text available
The use of virtual reality (VR) technology is becoming more common and can be harnessed as a tool to improve various emotional and psychological aspects. The present research explored whether different kinds of VR experience (i.e., active versus passive) would differently affect people’s mood, anxiety and sadness. Undergraduate students (n = 133) were randomly assigned to three study conditions: active game VR experience, passive VR experience and control 2D passive viewing and filled out a battery of questionnaires before and after manipulation. The results show that following both VR exposures (but not following the control condition), participants’ moods improved, and the degree of anxiety was reduced. The degree of sadness was reduced only following the active game VR experience. Regarding self-efficacy, it was higher in the passive VR experience but lower following the active game VR experience (and not affected by the control condition). In conclusion, the results indicate that short VR experiences could provide a suitable alternative for the lack of accessible treatments to improve mood and to alleviate levels of anxiety and sadness, although further research is needed to tailor and refine the exact VR experience that would best improve each specific psychological aspect.
... correlation [39]. Moreover, in a lab setting, the effect of an experience of low performance on self-efficacy persists even after performance recovery [40]. ...
Article
Full-text available
We investigate how the 2008–2012 economic crisis relates to entrepreneurs’ confidence ten years later and, in turn, their venture’s entrepreneurial orientation. Conceptually, we introduce the new concept of ‘hard times’ to capture an entrepreneur’s sense of their venture’s hardship during the crisis. Theoretically, we extend ideas on imprinting, to build the argument that hard times cause a persistent reduction in an entrepreneur’s entrepreneurial self-efficacy and sense of job security, both of which in turn cause a contemporaneous reduction in their venture’s entrepreneurial orientation. We contrast the crisis imprinting hypothesis with a hypothesis from the more established behavioral theory of the firm. Strikingly, rich data of about 300 Flemish entrepreneurs and their ventures are in line with a small crisis imprinting effect.
... This standpoint is supported by control theory, which emphasises that higher self-efficacy implies that a closer goal is set and less effort is needed (Powers 1973). Several moderating indicators in the relationship between self-efficacy and performance have been identified, such as goal difficulty and experiences of failure (Beck and Schmidt 2012;Hardy 2014). ...
Article
Full-text available
Work placement has been regarded as one of the most effective ways of developing vocational teachers' occupational expertise. Guided by expectancy-value theory, we aim to explore how vocational teachers' motivation towards professional learning shapes to their engagement when on work placement. Two research questions were addressed: 1) What is the relationship between vocational teachers' motivational beliefs and engagement in work placement? 2) Does teaching experience have a moderating effect on this relationship? The data was collected from an online survey and analysed with a quantitative way. The participants were 426 Chinese secondary vocational teachers. Exploratory factor analysis identified four motivational beliefs: task value, self-efficacy, task effort, and emotional cost. Regression analysis revealed that vocational teachers' task value, self-efficacy, and task effort were positively related to their engagement. Teachers' emotional cost was negatively linked to their behavioural, cognitive, and emotional engagement , but positively linked to agentic engagement. Moreover, a negative moderation of teaching experience was seen. These findings facilitate the understanding of vocational teachers' professional learning in work site and provide suggestions on how to reinforce their engagement. The future research could examine the relationship between vocational teachers' motiva-tional beliefs and engagement from a longitudinal perspective or within other learning contexts. ARTICLE HISTORY
... Also, self-efficacy (both general and patient-centeredness) does not measure capability or performance directly (Hardy III, 2014). More investigation into the evolution of self-efficacy along with its correlation with academic performance and long-term practitioner outcomes is needed, especially across academic centers. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of early longitudinal preceptorship experiences on the evolution of general self-efficacy and patient-centeredness self-efficacy through medical school. Methods: Validated surveys for general self-efficacy and patient-centeredness self-efficacy were administered in an allopathic medical school at three timepoints. These data were stratified by traditional and longitudinal preceptorship groups and analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations. Qualitative analysis of narrative medicine essays by the same cohort during their preceptorship experiences was also performed. Results: While general self-efficacy remained largely unchanged over time, patient-centeredness self-efficacy measures increased throughout medical school in the whole cohort (N=157). The longitudinal preceptorship group had higher gains in patient-centeredness self-efficacy, especially in the domain of exploring patient perspectives (p<0.05). The qualitative analysis of narrative medicine essays showed those in longitudinal preceptorships were more likely to discuss health care systems issues, consider psychosocial factors, and perceive themselves as active members of the care team. Discussion: Our study indicates greater patient-centeredness attitudes over time among students who have early longitudinal experiences, perhaps due to the self-efficacy building nature of these experiences. Our research suggest that medical school programs should consider incorporating opportunities for early longitudinal clinical experiences for their students.
... Thompson ve Gomez (2014)'in 78 hizmet çalışanı ile gerçekleştirdiği çalışmasında ise, öz yeterlilik algısının, rol belirsizliği ile depresyon arasındaki ilişkide ılımlaştırıcı etkisinin bulunduğu tespit edilmiştir.Son yıllarda psikoloji alanında yapılan çalışmalar, insan kararlarının daha çok algılara göre şekillendiğini göstermektedir(Bandura 2001; Kreitner ve Luthans, 1984).Buna göre, bireyin belirli bir görevi başarı ile yürütmek ve tamamlamak konusunda kaynakları kullanabilme yetenekleri hakkındaki inançlarını ifade eden öz yeterlilik algısı, çalışanın görevlerini ne kadar etkili ve verimli bir şekilde tamamladığını belirlemede önemli bir rol oynamaktadır(Pimpakorn ve Patterson, 2010). Bu bağlamada öz yeterlilik algısı çalışan performansını etkileyen önemli bir değişkendir ve ilgili literatür incelendiğinde öyeterlilik algısı yüksek olan çalışanların daha yüksek performans sergiledikleri görülmektedir(Brief ve Aldag, 1981; Stajkovic ve Luthans, 1998;Krishnan, Netemeyerand Boles, 2002;Randhawa, 2004;Hutchinson, Sherman, Martinovic ve Tenenbaum, 2007; Lin, 2008; Seo ve Ilies, 2009;Klassen ve Chiu, 2010;Hardy, 2014; Yu ve diğerleri, 2015).Performans üzerinde önemli etkileri bulunan öz yeterlilik algısının, iletişim ve etkileşimin yoğun olduğu hizmet üretim ve sunumuna ilişkin önemli bir performans göstergesi olan hizmet oryantasyonluluk kavramı üzerinde de önemli etkileri bulunmaktadır. Hizmet oryantasyonluluk, hizmet sunumu ile ilgili sorumluluk hissetme, işbirliği, yardımseverlik gibi öğrenilebilir belirli kültür, tutum ve davranışları ifade etmektedir(Schneider ve diğerleri, 1980; Dienhart ve diğerleri, 1991; Liao ve Chuang, 2004; Frimpong ve Wilson, 2012; Popli ve Rizvi, 2015: 60-61). ...
... Successful mastery experiences contribute to the development of efficacy beliefs and increase the investment of effort and the level of performance (Bandura, 1997). Perceived self-efficacy is a key dynamic and malleable factor affecting behavior (Gist and Mitchell, 1992;Hardy, 2014), and some evidence indicates that higher self-efficacy leads to better performance in cognitive and sports tasks (e.g., Beattie et al., 2014;Niemiec and Lachowicz-Tabaczek, 2015). At the same time, divergences in social cognitive and control theories lead to different assumptions about the effects of self-efficacy (see Bandura and Locke, 2003;Bandura, 2012;Schönfeld et al., 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
Self-efficacy is a well-known psychological resource, being positively associated with increased performance. Furthermore, results from field studies suggest a positive impact of self-efficacy on flow experience, which has not yet been tested experimentally. In this study, we manipulated self-efficacy by means of positive feedback and investigated whether self-efficacy serves as a mediator in the relationship between positive feedback and flow and in the relationship between positive feedback and performance. Our sample consisted of 102 participants (63 female, 39 male). The experimental group received positive feedback after completing 5 min of mental arithmetic tasks on a computer, whereas the control group received no feedback. A second session of a mental arithmetic task was then completed for 5 min. Mediation analyses confirmed that specific self-efficacy mediated a positive effect of positive feedback on flow as well as on both performance measures (quality and quantity) in a subsequent task. However, direct effects of feedback on flow and on performance were not significant, which suggests the presence of other mechanisms that remain to be investigated.
... This suggests that the development of self-efficacy involves "an ongoing, unstable process that is amenable to change as a result of extraneous sources" (Phan, 2012, p. 207). Such extraneous sources may include social factors, processes, and contexts (e.g., Hardy, 2014;Tierney & Farmer, 2011). ...
Article
English public speaking (EPS) is increasingly gaining prominence and popularity around the world, and this is especially true for university students in China. While self-efficacy is typically strongly correlated with language performance in general (Pajares & Graham, 1999), very little is known about self-efficacy and EPS performance specifically. Grounded in self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997) and research on English for academic purposes and English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) literature, the main purpose of this study is to postulate and test against data a hypothesized model of EPS performance predictors to examine the relationships among student background characteristics, theoretically postulated sources of EPS self-efficacy, and the relationship between EPS self-efficacy and EPS performance. Participants were 82 EFL students enrolled in a university-level EPS course in China. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed for data collection and analysis. ANOVA results indicated substantial EPS self-efficacy and speech performance growth throughout the semester. Path analysis results provided evidence regarding hypothesized relationships among variables; qualitative data helped gain more fine-grained understanding of such relationships. These results add knowledge to self-efficacy theory in the EPS domain, provide a foundation for more robust models in other contexts, and affirm the importance of EPS instructional practices.
... Similarly, Bandura (1993) indicated that some individuals regard ability as an acquirable skill that can be improved by gaining knowledge and some also regard errors as natural part of an acquisition process because one can learn from mistakes. Hardy (2014) also suggested that experiences of failure can fundamentally alter the self-efficacy-performance relationship. Therefore, we argue that subordinates who have a tenacious belief in their capabilities will try to persevere with their efforts even if they encounter innumerable problems and difficulties (Bandura, 1993). ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose Previous research on influence strategies has almost exclusively indicated negative relationships between assertive influence and employee work outcomes; the purpose of this study is to argue that an assertive influence strategy can also lead to both positive and negative work outcomes, when subordinates hold different attributions towards the leaders’ motive of using assertive influence (hereafter “the cause”). Design/methodology/approach The empirical study was based on data collected from 930 employees in China. The authors developed hypotheses to test the mediating effects of three types of perception in the relationship between an assertive influence strategy and five outcomes, and additional analyses on persuasive and relational influence strategies are also conducted. Findings Results show that when subordinates attribute the cause to their ability (internal attribution), an assertive influence has indirect positive effect on felt obligation, organizational commitment, job performance and organizational citizenship behavior; when subordinates attribute the cause to the poor relationship with their superiors (relational attribution), an assertive influence has indirect negative impact on most outcomes except for job performance; when subordinates perceive that the cause is to the superiors, such as authoritarian leadership (external attribution), an assertive influence has indirect positive effect on job performance. Practical implications The study highlights the importance of subordinates’ perceptions during the leadership influence processes. Originality/value This study was the first to examine the mediation relationship between three types of influence strategies and five organizational outcomes based on a large sample of front-line staff in China. The findings of the study also enrich the literature of leadership and attribution theories.
... Finally, these studies focused on examining self-efficacy at the between-person level. A growing body of research has shown, however, that the relationship between self-efficacy and performance is negative when examined at the within-person levels (e.g., Hardy, 2014;Sitzmann & Yeo, 2013;Vancouver et al., 2008). Some have argued that this pattern of relationships would not apply to more complex work (e.g., creativity; Tierney & Farmer, 2011). ...
Article
Full-text available
Since its inception 15 years ago, creative self-efficacy has been identified as an important predictor of creativity, the generation of new and useful ideas. Over 50 studies examining this relationship suggest a strong, positive correlation. Nevertheless, like most research on creativity, the research on creative self-efficacy has overemphasized its generative aspects and largely ignored the evaluative aspects, both of which are critical to the production of new and useful ideas. To address this, the present effort developed a measure of idea evaluation self-efficacy. Through two studies, evidence is obtained for the construct and incremental validity of this measure. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
... Vancouver (2012) replied that the debilitating character of the negative effects was a form of interpretation. However, within-person negative effects were also supported in a computer game task (Hardy, 2014) and there are first indices for between-person negative effects in an anagram task (Vancouver et al., 2014). With regard to SCT emphasizing the positive effects of self-efficacy in stress management and behavioral contexts, the diminishing effects on performance provide dissimilar finings on mental stressors and challenges. ...
... The latter, complex effect might also account for the nonlinear effects sometimes found between self-efficacy and performance (e.g., Beattie et al., 2014;Beck & Schmidt, 2015;Eden & Aviram, 1993;Hardy, 2014). For instance, Beck and Schmidt (2012) found that individuals with generally low self-efficacy were more likely to exhibit a positive within-person self-efficacy effect on resource allocation (e.g., analogous to searching behavior here) than individuals with generally high self-efficacy. ...
Article
Full-text available
Self-efficacy, which is one’s belief in one’s capacity, has been found to both positively and negatively influence effort and performance. The reasons for these different effects have been a major topic of debate among social–cognitive and perceptual control theorists. In particular, the findings of various self-efficacy effects has been motivated by a perceptual control theory view of self-regulation that social–cognitive theorists’ question. To provide more clarity to the theoretical arguments, a computational model of the multiple processes presumed to create the positive, negative, and null effects for self-efficacy is presented. Building on an existing computational model of goal choice that produces a positive effect for self-efficacy, the current article adds a symbolic processing structure used during goal striving that explains the negative self-efficacy effect observed in recent studies. Moreover, the multiple processes, operating together, allow the model to recreate the various effects found in a published study of feedback ambiguity’s moderating role on the self-efficacy to performance relationship (Schmidt & DeShon, 2010). Discussion focuses on the implications of the model for the self-efficacy debate, alternative computational models, the overlap between control theory and social–cognitive theory explanations, the value of using computational models for resolving theoretical disputes, and future research and directions the model inspires.
... However, the research on creative self-efficacy seems to have ignored this thus far. The complexity of self-efficacy's relationships with resource allocation and performance are just beginning to be unpacked (Beck & Schmidt, 2012Halper & Vancouver, 2016;Hardy, 2014;Schmidt & DeShon, 2009, but what is clear is that these are not simple, linear relationships, as they are commonly presumed to be. As a result, it is necessary for leaders to carefully consider context, desired outcomes, and subordinates' individual differences before intervening to influence self-efficacy. ...
Chapter
Full-text available
Historically, the link between motivation and creative performance has focused heavily on intrinsic motivation. However, after nearly 30 years of research, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship remain largely a mystery. In this chapter, we draw on goal orientation and self- regulation theories of motivation to propose specific paths through which intrinsic motivation may have a positive or negative impact on creative performance, depending on the type of outcome of interest (e.g., radical vs. incremental creativity, expected vs. proactive creativity). In addition, despite the longstanding belief that extrinsic motivation is bad for creativity, we also propose ways in which extrinsic motivation may in fact prove beneficial. Exploratory and exploitative cognitive processes (e.g., deep learning, self-efficacy) are examined as key mediating mechanisms. We highlight the need for leaders to understand their context and objectives in order to effectively facilitate creative performance.
... Similarly, Bandura (1993) indicated that some individuals regard ability as an acquirable skill that can be improved by gaining knowledge and some also regard errors as natural part of an acquisition process because one can learn from mistakes. Hardy (2014) also suggested that experiences of failure can fundamentally alter the self-efficacy-performance relationship. Therefore, we argue that subordinates who have a tenacious belief in their capabilities will try to persevere with their efforts even if they encounter innumerable problems and difficulties (Bandura, 1993). ...
Article
This study investigates the effect of game advertisement outcomes on a player’s subsequent gaming experience. Research on vicarious experience shows that individuals infer game difficulty to be higher when watching game advertisements where players lose (vs. win) the game. Building on the effort–paradox paradigm, the first of this three-part study shows that such higher inferred difficulty enhances enjoyment and engagement during subsequent gaming experiences, especially for advertisements featuring easy game levels. Solely manipulating the difficulty level, Study 2 confirms the underlying mechanism of inferred difficulty for the observed effect of game advertisement outcomes. Study 3a finds that the main positive effect of losing (vs. winning) ads does not hold for advertisements featuring difficult game levels. Study 3b further explores this by focusing only on advertisements with difficult game levels, investigating how variations in players’ self-efficacy might influence their response to losing advertisements depicting difficult game levels. The findings across four studies suggest that, when promoting easy game levels, marketers can use advertisements with losing outcomes to extend gaming sessions, thereby increasing revenue from in-game advertisements. However, for difficult game levels, advertisements with losing outcomes are effective only for those with high self-efficacy.
Article
Full-text available
In the past few decades, failure has attracted more attention as people realize that experiencing and learning from failure is an essential part of achieving success. In light of this, I propose a time-stage model of failure, which describes and predicts the processes and responses at three stages of failure: In the first stage, individuals experience immediate emotional pain and a sense of threat to their fundamental needs upon detecting failure; in the second stage, individuals reflect on the significance of their failure and develop different motives to recover from the threatened needs. In the third stage, prolonged exposure to failure drains individuals’ resources and leads them to believe that they are destined for continuous failure. This can result in compliance, avoidance, and a decrease in self-efficacy. Finally, we call for more research to explore the factors and psychological mechanisms that affect the individuals’ response to failure, so that more strategies can be developed to help individuals recover from short-term failures and minimize the negative consequences of long-term failure.
Chapter
The Cambridge Handbook of Computational Cognitive Sciences is a comprehensive reference for this rapidly developing and highly interdisciplinary field. Written with both newcomers and experts in mind, it provides an accessible introduction of paradigms, methodologies, approaches, and models, with ample detail and illustrated by examples. It should appeal to researchers and students working within the computational cognitive sciences, as well as those working in adjacent fields including philosophy, psychology, linguistics, anthropology, education, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, computer science, and more.
Article
Resource-constrained firms rely on entrepreneurial bricolage to enhance innovative performance. In entrepreneurial bricolage, workers are considered intangible resources with which to construct new combinations. This study utilized labor inputs to identify the predictors of entrepreneurial bricolage and analyzed the relationship among the experiential resource-learning experience, human resource endowment, and entrepreneurial bricolage and the mediating role of creative self-efficacy. This study focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have engaged in bricolage activities and presented products in cultural and creative parks. A questionnaire survey and structural equation modeling were used to verify the research framework. Experiential learning was positively associated with human resource endowment and positively influenced entrepreneurial bricolage. Moreover, creative self-efficacy mediated the relationship between human resource endowment and entrepreneurial bricolage. This study recommends that SMEs that intend to implement the bricolage strategy should invest some resources in experiments to gain experiential knowledge from learning workers and thus enhance their human resource endowment. Through such learning, employee confidence in their ability to create may increase. Managers or business owners should redesign work evaluation methods to support experimentation to promote knowledge accumulation. Organizations should create a creativity-friendly workplace to strengthen employees’ belief in their ability to engage in creative work.
Article
While most participants benefit from action-oriented entrepreneurship training, such programs can paradoxically also have negative effects. Training programs in which participants actively engage in entrepreneurship involve facing problems that might be too difficult to overcome, potentially decreasing trainees' entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Based on theories of self-regulation, we argue that error mastery orientation is a factor that explains under which condition problems do or do not lead to decreases in entrepreneurial self-efficacy during training. To test our model, we conducted a 12-week action-oriented training program and applied a longitudinal design with one baseline measurement, seven measurements during training, and one measurement after training. Analyses based on 415 lagged observations from 109 training participants indicated that participants with low error mastery orientation experienced decreases in entrepreneurial self-efficacy during training when facing problems. In contrast, participants high in error mastery orientation could buffer the negative effects of problems on entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Our results suggest that error mastery orientation is a critical factor to understand why participants' episodic experiences of problems during training negatively influence their entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Shedding light on these self-regulatory factors advances the understanding of the potential dark side of action-oriented entrepreneurship training.
Article
Full-text available
Self-efficacy beliefs related to the performance of a task have been identified as strong predictors of performance success. Research has hypothesized that the most influential contextual factor in athlete self-efficacy development is the athlete-coach relationship, yet there is little research on this relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine collegiate athletes’ perceptions of the prevalence of transformative and destructive coaches, the teaching methods athletes perceive to be transformative (strengthening self-efficacy belief), and the influence of coaching methods on sport self-efficacy belief. Just over two-thirds of the athletes expressed having transformative coaches while over one-third experienced coaches they defined as destructive, with many of these coaches utilizing overtly abusive tactics. This positive and negative exposure was significantly related to athlete self-efficacy belief. Transformative coaching methods were highlighted which add to the body of sport management research by highlighting how coaches influence performance beliefs of their athletes.
Article
This study aimed to explore graduate teaching assistants’ (GTAs) perceptions of and readiness for effective teaching in higher education before and after attending an effective teaching training programme that was followed by a short term teaching experience. The study sample consisted of 62 GTAs who participated in an effective teaching training programme in a non-profit Turkish university. First, we administered a survey just before and after the training programme, and six months later when study participants conducted different teaching duties in their discipline specific departments. The results showed that after training and experience, GTAs put more emphasis on the role of instructors as content experts and their conceptions of effective teaching reflected more caring attitudes toward student learning. We also found that for GTAs who actively involved in training and teaching in a real classroom, training and experience have a combined positive effect on their readiness for effective teaching.
Article
Full-text available
Although hundreds of studies have found a positive relationship between self-efficacy and performance, several studies have found a negative relationship when the analysis is done across time (repeated measures) rather than across individuals. W. T. Powers (1991) predicted this negative relationship based on perceptual control theory. Here, 2 studies are presented to (a) confirm the causal role of self-efficacy and (b) substantiate the explanation. In Study 1, self-efficacy was manipulated for 43 of 87 undergraduates on an analytic game. The manipulation was negatively related to performance on the next trial. In Study 2, 104 undergraduates played the analytic game and reported self-efficacy between each game and confidence in the degree to which they had assessed previous feedback. As expected, self-efficacy led to overconfidence and hence increased the likelihood of committing logic errors during the game.
Article
Full-text available
Sport competition can be divided into a preparatory (practice) and performance (competition) process. Self- efficacy beliefs taken just prior (i.e., within 24 hr or after a final practice session) to the actual competition are referred to as performance efficacy beliefs; whereas, efficacy beliefs measured during the preparation or practice stage are referred to as preparatory efficacy beliefs. Consistent with the vast majority of efficacy research, Bandura (1) suggests that high performance efficacy perceptions are best for performance. In contrast, he suggests that preparatory efficacy perceptions should optimally reflect some sense of self-doubt because they serve as an impetus that motivates increased preparatory effort. Ultimately, greater preparatory effort should lead to stronger competitive performance. Despite Bandura's observa- tions of this process at work, no empirical studies have examined preparatory efficacy perceptions, preparatory effort, performance efficacy, and performance across a single preparation-competition process. This article examines the concept of preparatory efficacy, existing experiential and empirical support for the concept, and finally, suggestions, applications, and implications for future research.
Article
Full-text available
We conducted a meta-analysis to determine whether the within-person self-efficacy/performance relationship is positive, negative, or null and to compare the strength of the self-efficacy/performance and past performance/self-efficacy within-person relationships. The self-efficacy/performance within-person corrected correlation was .23 but was weak and nonsignificant (ρ = .06) when controlling for the linear trajectory, revealing that the main effect was spurious. The past performance/self-efficacy within-person corrected correlation was .40 and remained positive and significant (ρ = .30) when controlling for the linear trajectory. The moderator results revealed that at the within-person level of analysis: (a) self-efficacy had at best a moderate, positive effect on performance and a null effect under other moderating conditions (ρ ranged from –.02 to .33); (b) the main effect of past performance on self-efficacy was stronger than the effect of self-efficacy on performance, even in the moderating conditions that produced the strongest self-efficacy/performance relationship; (c) the effect of past performance on self-efficacy ranged from moderate to strong across moderating conditions and was statistically significant across performance tasks, contextual factors, and methodological moderators (ρ ranged from .18 to .52). Overall, this suggests that self-efficacy is primarily a product of past performance rather than the driving force affecting future performance.
Article
Full-text available
This paper is a response to Bandura’s 2012 Guest Editorial, which defends the functional properties of self-efficacy by criticizing published studies that have demonstrated a negative relationship between self-efficacy and performance at the within-person level of analysis. We focus on the theoretical and methodological criticisms that Bandura has made in relation to our (Yeo & Neal) 2006 piece that examined the dynamic relationship between self-efficacy and performance across levels of analysis and specificity. In doing so, we explain the importance of designing and analyzing studies involving self-efficacy at the within-person level of analysis. We then demonstrate how the concept of resource allocation can explain the co-existence of positive and negative dynamic self-efficacy effects across the between- and within-person levels of analysis. We acknowledge the great strides that researchers have made in understanding the complex and dynamic processes involving self-efficacy and encourage researchers to continue this collective effort.
Article
Full-text available
This meta-analysis (114 studies, k = 157, N = 21,616) examined the relationship between self-efficacy and work-related performance. Results of the primary meta-analysis indicated a significant weighted average correlation between self-efficacy and work-related performance, G (r+) = .38, and a significant within-group heterogeneity of individual correlations. To account for this variation, the authors conducted a 2-level theory-driven moderator analysis by partitioning the k sample of correlations first according to the level of task complexity (low, medium, and high), and then into 2 classes according to the type of study setting (simulated–lab vs. actual–field). New directions for future theory development and research are suggested, and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Article
Full-text available
Applies control theory to A. Bandura's (see record 1990-01275-001) discussions of human agency. It is argued that Bandura is unfamiliar with control theory as either a technical subject or as a model of behavior, and that there is already a long history of work relating feedback phenomena to behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
An inherent aspect of learner-controlled instructional environments is the ability of learners to affect the degree of difficulty faced during training. However, research has yet to examine how learner-controlled practice difficulty affects learning. Based on the notion of desirable difficulties (Bjork, 1994), this study examined the cognitive and motivational antecedents and outcomes of learner-controlled practice difficulty in relation to learning a complex task. Using a complex videogame involving both strong cognitive and psychomotor demands, 112 young adult males were given control over their practice difficulty, which was reflected in the complexity of the training task. Results show that general mental ability, prior experience, pre-training self-efficacy, and error encouragement were positively related to learner-controlled practice difficulty. In turn, practice difficulty was directly related to task knowledge and post-training performance, and it was related to adaptive performance through the mediating influences of task knowledge and post-training performance. In general, this study supports the notion that training difficulty operationalized in terms of task complexity is positively related to both knowledge and performance outcomes. Results are discussed with respect to the need for more research examining how task complexity and other forms of difficulty could be leveraged to advance learner-controlled instructional practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
Article
Full-text available
This meta-analysis (114 studies, k = 157, N = 21.616) examined the relationship between self-efficacy and work-related performance. Results of the primary meta-analysis indicated a significant weighted average correlation between self-efficacy and work-related performance, G(r+) = .38, and a significant within-group heterogeneity of individual correlations. To account for this variation, the authors conducted a 2-level theory-driven moderator analysis by partitioning the k sample of correlations first according to the level of task complexity (low, medium, and high), and then into 2 classes according to the type of study setting (simulated-lab vs. actual-field). New directions for future theory development and research are suggested, and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Article
Full-text available
Recent research (e.g., Vancouver & Kendall, 2006; Vancouver, Thompson, Tischner, & Putka, 2002; Vancouver, Thompson, & Williams, 2001) has challenged the conventional view of self-efficacy as a positive influence on performance, finding a negative within-person relationship between self-efficacy and performance. In the current study, performance ambiguity is examined as a potential boundary condition for this negative self-efficacy effect. As hypothesized, self-efficacy was negatively related to subsequent performance under conditions of high ambiguity but was positively related to performance when performance ambiguity was low. Additionally, the study evaluates key mediating processes underlying the relationship between self-efficacy and performance, finding support for the role of performance perceptions and effort allocation. The results of this study help to establish the scope of the phenomenon and suggest potential means of inhibiting the negative self-efficacy effects.
Article
Full-text available
The common interpretation of the positive correlation among self-efficacy, personal goals, and performance is questioned. Using self-efficacy theory (A. Bandura, 1977), it was predicted that cross-sectional correlational results were a function of past performance's influence on self-efficacy, and using control theory (W. T. Powers, 1973), it was predicted that self-efficacy could negatively influence subsequent performance. These predictions were supported with 56 undergraduate participants, using a within-person procedure. Personal goals were also positively influenced by self-efficacy and performance but negatively related to subsequent performance. A 2nd study involving 185 undergraduates found that manipulated goal level positively predicted performance and self-efficacy positively predicted performance in the difficult-goal condition. The discussion focuses on conditions likely to affect the sign of the relationship among self-efficacy, goals, and performance.
Article
Full-text available
The authors address the verification of the functional properties of self-efficacy beliefs and document how self-efficacy beliefs operate in concert with goal systems within a sociocognitive theory of self-regulation in contrast to the focus of control theory on discrepancy reduction. Social cognitive theory posits proactive discrepancy production by adoption of goal challenges working in concert with reactive discrepancy reduction in realizing them. Converging evidence from diverse methodological and analytic strategies verifies that perceived self-efficacy and personal goals enhance motivation and performance attainments. The large body of evidence, as evaluated by 9 meta-analyses for the effect sizes of self-efficacy beliefs and by the vast body of research on goal setting, contradicts findings (J. B. Vancouver, C. M. Thompson, & A. A. Williams, 2001; J. B. Vancouver, C. M. Thompson, E. C. Tischner, & D. J. Putka 2002) that belief in one's capabilities and personal goals is self-debilitating.
Article
Full-text available
A longstanding debate has recently re-erupted in the self-regulation literature around the concept of self-efficacy. This article presents an argument that the debate emerges from a lack of understanding of the history of control theories within both the social and physical sciences and the various levels of explanation to which phenomena can be subjected. This history, coupled with the issues of determinism, materialism, and empiricism evoked by the deeper level of explanation that some versions of control theory provide, has led some critics to mis-apply non-psychological properties to control theories and obscure their usefulness. Here, the usefulness of a deeper control theory level of explanation is illustrated using comparisons with explanations found in goal-setting theory and social cognitive theory.
Article
Full-text available
Past research on the influence of self-efficacy in training has provided mixed results. Key differences between studies pertain to whether past performance is operationalized as a residual variable or as an unadjusted variable and to the type of task used. In this study, the authors conducted and performed a reanalysis to examine the influence of self-efficacy using both operationalizations of past performance in 2 experimental tasks. Results indicate that, regardless of task version or type, self-efficacy predicted performance only when a residual measure of past performance was used, but not when past performance was unadjusted. However, when past performance was adjusted, the findings for self-efficacy were likely a statistical artifact. These results suggest that self-efficacy is a consequence rather than a cause of performance in training.
Article
Full-text available
Recent reviews of the training literature have advocated directly manipulating self-efficacy in an attempt to improve the motivation of trainees. However, self-regulation theories conceive of motivation as a function of various goal processes, and assert that the effect of self-efficacy should depend on the process involved. Training contexts may evoke planning processes in which self-efficacy might negatively relate to motivation. Yet the typical between-persons studies in the current literature may obscure the effect. To examine this issue, 63 undergraduate students completed a series of questionnaires measuring self-efficacy and motivation before 5 class exams. Self-efficacy was negatively related to motivation and exam performance at the within-person level of analysis, despite a significant positive relation with performance at the between-persons level.
Article
Full-text available
This research used resource allocation theory to generate predictions regarding dynamic relationships between self-efficacy and task performance from 2 levels of analysis and specificity. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of task-specific self-efficacy and performance were taken at repeated intervals. The authors used multilevel analysis to demonstrate differential and dynamic effects. As predicted, task-specific self-efficacy was negatively associated with task performance at the within-person level. On the other hand, average levels of task-specific self-efficacy were positively related to performance at the between-persons level and mediated the effect of general self-efficacy. The key findings from this research relate to dynamic effects--these results show that self-efficacy effects can change over time, but it depends on the level of analysis and specificity at which self-efficacy is conceptualized. These novel findings emphasize the importance of conceptualizing self-efficacy within a multilevel and multispecificity framework and make a significant contribution to understanding the way this construct relates to task performance.
Article
Full-text available
Self-regulation theories are paving the way to integrating motivational theories of behavior. However, a review of the motivation literature reveals several possible relationships between self-efficacy and motivation. Past findings were reduced to 4 empirical models, which were compared within a single study using undergraduates playing a computer task. The effects of 2 manipulations of self-efficacy on resource allocation decisions were assessed. Consistent with a multiple goal process conceptualization, self-efficacy was found to relate positively to directing resources toward a goal but negatively to the magnitude of resources allocated for accepted goals. Differences in methods are used to reconcile current and past findings.
Article
Over the last several years, the conventional view of self-efficacy as a positive influence on performance has been called into question. Researchers have identified a negative relationship between self-efficacy and performance when examined via within-person analyses, even in the presence of large positive between-person relationships. The current study proposes that the within-person relationship between self-efficacy and subsequent performance is moderated by one's degree of prior success or failure. Using a multitrial task, support was found for the proposed model. Following poor or substandard performances, self-efficacy was positively related to subsequent performance. However, following more successful prior performances, self-efficacy was negatively related to subsequent performance. Implications of these findings for theory and research on work motivation are discussed.
Article
Research examining the relationship between self-efficacy and performance has tended to find a positive effect at the between-person level and a weak negative or null effect at the within-person level. This pattern of results has led to a belief that the level of analysis is a key factor in determining the sign of the relationship. Using a between-person experimental design, the authors demonstrate a negative effect for self-efficacy on motivation and quality of performance at the between-person level. A positive effect for self-efficacy on the quantity of tasks engaged, apparently due to the reduction in motivation on each task, was also found. The discussion focused on the relevance of the findings in the debate between social cognitive and control theorists.
Article
This article explores the possibility of efficacy-performance spirals in individuals, groups, and organizations. Spirals are deviation-amplifying loops in which the positive, cyclic relationship between perceived efficacy and performance builds upon itself. Collective efficacy is defined, and upward and downward spirals are considered. Evidence from multiple levels of analysis is presented, and factors affecting the occurrence, continuation, and stopping of spirals are proposed. In addition, we consider compositional and cross-level effects by proposing factors that will moderate the relationship between spirals at different levels of analysis. Overall, 15 propositions are presented as guidelines for future research.
Article
This commentary addresses the functional properties of perceived self-efficacy in the context of a set of studies contending that belief in one’s capabilities has debilitating or null effects. It encompasses four theoretical orientations. These include social cognitive theory rooted in an agentic perspective, control theory grounded in a cybernetic model, and trait self-efficacy theory and Big Five theory based on a decontextualized trait model. Critical analyses of the studies in question document their failure to fulfill key theoretical, methodological, analytical, and construct assessment requirements. The article extends beyond critical analyses of the published studies. It specifies the theoretical, methodological, and analytical requirements essential to the advancement of knowledge on the role that perceived self-efficacy plays in human self-development, adaption, and change at both the individual and collective levels.
Article
Research examining the within-person relationship among self-efficacy, resource allocation, and performance has been decidedly mixed, with positive, null, and even negative relationships being observed. In the present research, we propose that relationship of within-person changes in self-efficacy with subsequent changes in resource allocation and performance depends upon one’s typical level of self-efficacy; that is, increases and decreases in self-efficacy have different implications for individuals that are generally highly efficacious than for individuals who are typically less efficacious. Moreover, we propose that these relationships further depend upon the difficulty of goal being pursued. Support for these arguments is found across two studies. These results provide support for self-efficacy’s non-monotonic relationship with resource allocation, including our proposition that the nature of this non-monotonic relationship differs as a function of difficulty. These results also help further illuminate when and for whom self-efficacy is likely to increase or decrease resource allocation and performance.
Article
This comment is a response to Bandura’s guest editorial (Journal of Management, Vol. 38, no. 1, January 2012) on the functional properties of perceived self-efficacy. The focus of this comment is on the limitations inherent in natural language (i.e., verbal) theories and critiques, which the research regarding self-efficacy has highlighted and Bandura’s editorial underscores. Specifically, it is argued that Bandura’s comment is replete with rhetorical fallacies and theoretical contradictions. Several examples are described to both provide a tutorial on rhetorical sleight of hand and to set the record straight. Computational modeling and logical reasoning are presented as an alternative approach to better scientific theorizing and critique.
Article
Although hundreds of studies have found a positive relationship between self-efficacy and performance, several studies have found a negative relationship when the analysis is done across time (repeated measures) rather than across individuals. W. T. Powers (1991) predicted this negative relationship based on perceptual control theory. Here, 2 studies are presented to (a) confirm the causal role of self-efficacy and (b) substantiate the explanation. In Study 1, self-efficacy was manipulated for 43 of 87 undergraduates on an analytic game. The manipulation was negatively related to performance on the next trial. In Study 2, 104 undergraduates played the analytic game and reported self-efficacy between each game and confidence in the degree to which they had assessed previous feedback. As expected, self-efficacy led to overconfidence and hence increased the likelihood of committing logic errors during the game.
SAS/STAT 9.1 User’s Guide
  • Sas Institute
  • Sas Institute