The Phenomenon of Self-Efficacy - Essay Example

Self- Efficacy This paper is a summary of the 30 page journal en d ‘Self-Efficacy: A Theoretical Analysis of Its Determinants and Malleability,’ by Marilyn E. Gist and Terence R. Mitchell, from the ‘The Academy of Management Review.’ The phenomenon of self-efficacy determines how people feel, think and motivate themselves to behave in according to what they believe their capabilities are. Development of a sense of personal self efficacy requires much more than just producing results through actions. It is more of a state of mind. Therefore, people who think that they can do well with regards to a certain task, have a higher chance of actually carrying out the task well compared to others who think that they will not. Human accomplishment and one’s overall well-being can be achieved by having a strong sense of self-efficacy. Therefore, when a task is given for an individual to accomplish, the task would be easier to do since self-efficacy fosters interest from the individual himself/herself and they can commit easily to the task given. Such a positive outlook towards oneself and the task given means that the person can do anything he/she sets out to do, no matter how hard the situation may be. The concept of ‘modelling’ refers to how individuals observe the behaviour of others to influence their own. However, modelling influences are more than just a social standard which a person uses in order to judge his/her own capabilities. People seek models who possess certain competencies they wish to achieve. This means that if they see a certain characteristic or behaviour from another individual that they like, they become ‘motivated’ to imitate that certain individual, with regards to his/her own characteristics and behaviour. Through their behaviour and ways of thinking, these models can give out knowledge and teach observers the required and effective skills and strategies to live with the demands of today’s environment. Through modelling, the individual can see how he/she should be like or behave, and through observation, the individual can also rid himself/herself of negative attitudes and behaviours, by influence. In other words, modelling can be referred to be as ‘copying’ another’s characteristics to improve one’s own. In turn, the acquisition of improved characteristics raises one’s perceived self-efficacy. The concept of persuasion, on the other hand, is a method in which a person’s beliefs are strengthened wherein they have what it takes in order to succeed in anything. When people are persuaded verbally about the capabilities that they possess in order to master a specific task, their personal efficacy not only increases, but they have a higher chance of losing their own self-doubt. Self-efficacy is a concept taken from social cognitive theory, wherein a person’s behaviour, way of thinking (cognitive), and his/her environment all influence each other to achieve the demands possibly dictated by society. Self-efficacy also changes over time and place as new experiences and new ideas are encountered by an individual. How a person thinks changes as he/she experiences new situations and new environments. Therefore, self-efficacy is always changing and the individual as well, as he/she starts to adopt new characteristics and show new forms of behaviour as he/she sees fit. Social cognitive theory basically describes the importance of past experiences as a driving force towards personality change. In addition, self-efficacy is also a motivational construct. People tend to motivate themselves and guide their actions accordingly. They anticipate the outcomes of their actions and use this as a tool to perform well. This way, people are able to direct themselves with regards to their behaviour, and they create ‘rewards’ or ‘incentives’ for themselves just so that they can persist and finally achieve their goal. The phenomenon of self-efficacy does not necessarily mean that a person has self-confidence issues. It is more as a result of how this individual assesses himself/herself, and how he/she deals with the different situations encountered in day to day life. For instance, if a person encounters a dilemma and tries to find out ways to solve it, the solution basically depends on the course of action a person takes in order to solve the dilemma at hand. In other words, it is not the situation that is the problem, but it is more of the behaviour of a person that turns the situation into one. Moreover, self-efficacy influences not only an individual’s way of thinking, but also his/her emotional reactions towards different situations and usage of his/her skills to execute all sorts of tasks in everyday life. Bandura and Wood are quick to point out though that there is a difference between self-efficacy, the concept of self-esteem, and the concept of self-expectancy, since the three concepts may be confused. While self-esteem focuses on an individual’s perception of his/her characteristics and capabilities, self-efficacy focuses on the possibility of going the extra mile, for the individual to possess more capabilities and favourable characteristics. It refers to a broader range of an individual’s capabilities for different tasks, while self-esteem focuses on a person’s capability for a certain job alone. An individual’s desire to have goals in life and to stick to these goals depends on self-efficacy. These individuals are found to assess themselves first, before setting out to complete a task, since they already know what they can or cannot do. After learning about certain traits and characteristics from oneself or from others, an individual can decide whether these traits and characteristics are can be adopted or not. Surprisingly, self-efficacy can be measured. There are a variety of ways to do this. Dichotomous questions are questions to which a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ is the only answer. Respondents can be asked whether he/she possesses characteristics closely related to self-efficacy, and their confidence level can also be rated on a scale of 1 to 100, with 1 being the level of lowest certainty or confidence. Likert scales can also be used, wherein respondents can be asked how well they think they can execute a task. However, the problem with measuring self-efficacy is the fact that the respondents may be unsure about themselves, their capabilities and their own behaviour. They may not also have as much experience with the task they are being questioned about. Therefore, such problems may make the self-efficacy measurement procedures invalid. In forming self-efficacy, an individual must first assess the task required of him/her. If the task has already been undertaken by the individual in the past, then he/she could use the past experiences encountered with such a task for future reference on how to improve himself/herself. Experience is related to self-efficacy in the sense that the individual can assess his/her judgments in the past, and can assess himself/herself whether the task was done well. If so, it helps the individual to find out how and why he/she was able to do the task well, since it can provide further motivations for future tasks ahead. Assessing the requirements of a task and analyzing one’s experience with the task from previous experiences may not be enough for an individual to possess self-efficacy. Performance levels on specific tasks depend more than assessment and stock knowledge of previous experiences. One must also consider factors such as an individual’s skills, effort, and drive to actually fulfill the task required of him/her. Other factors include the situation the task takes place in. Environments change, and so do the demands of society. Therefore, it is inevitable that self-efficacy also suit. There are two types of information processing that an individual can choose from to form an analysis of the task at hand. Controlled processing allows one to analyze the situation in detail. Another type of information processing, on the other hand, is automatic processing, wherein an individual does a quick analyzation of the task at face value, without considering other details that may be needed to execute the mentioned task. It must be mentioned though, that the more frequent a task is carried out, the more an individual tends to use automatic processing, since the task has become a routine of sorts, and the individual has learned how to adapt and act towards such tasks demanded of him/her. Past experiences are great for predicting how well a person can perform in a given task. They are the strongest source of information with regards to self-efficacy. This also means that past experiences provide self-efficacy a level of accuracy. In other words, what has happened in the past, can happen again. However, when a task is new to an individual and it is important to him/her, then the person may assess the task in depth. Change is a factor that can affect the accuracy of self-efficacy. If an individual is constantly changing with his/her environment, and so is the environment itself, then the task will lack stability and self-efficacy will not be accurate. Therefore, the person’s judgment with regards to self-efficacy will be poor. Furthermore, it must be noted that attributions differ from self-efficacy since they are assessments of past occurrences, and why they were caused. The ability of a person to assess himself/herself on how to accomplish a task is said to be a low variability/internal determinant of self-efficacy. By ‘low’ we mean that poor assessment is still not an excuse to not have an accomplishment. More often than not, assessments of oneself are influenced by past experiences and previous performance levels. But self-efficacy focuses on future performances of required tasks and how they can be carried about. In this sense, it can be thought of that self-efficacy is a cross between attributions and future occurrences. Clearly, there is a relationship between the three variables. External factors have been found to have an effect on efficacy. By external, we refer to situations and circumstances that take place and are totally beyond a person’s control. External factors include actions taken by an organization (and not by the person) in addition to other uncontrollable factors such as the weather. However, internal factors such as a person’s effort towards a task, and his/her drive to carry out the assigned task can be controlled by the individual. It is important for an individual to find out the attributes of the task given to him/her. The attributes of such tasks can be referred to as being in the low variability/external determinant category, since they influence an individual’s behaviour towards the task, but do not determine it. This means that the simplicity or complexity of the task does not matter to an individual who is determined to complete the task assigned to him/her. Factors such as interdependence, where an individual may have to work with others influence self-efficacy. Different tasks encourage different forms of behaviour from different individuals. This is because each task requires a different strategy in order to be accomplished. Some tasks may be more difficult than others and may require persistence and patience. Other tasks may be easier and may need simpler strategies to be completed. Another important factor is also the resources that need to be used to carry out the task. By resources we mean time, or any other materials needed to execute the task effectively. It must be made certain that the goal of accomplishing the required task should be reachable, in order to increase self-efficacy. This means that the individual should be able to carry out the task without much or any constraints. For instance, if the individual has an early deadline and cannot finish the task given before the due date, self-efficacy is decreased since it is inevitable that the individual will panic and may start to think that the task cannot be done on time. On a further note, the task should be free from too many complications. The more complicated a task is, the higher the chance that it cannot be completed as soon as desired. In turn, this lowers the level of self-efficacy. The task’s environment, as mentioned earlier, is a factor a task depends on because it is prone to change. Dangerous environments present harsh realities wherein minimal resources can be found, let alone social support. The environment can be said to be part of the high variability/external cues, since a person’s behaviour towards the task, and how it should be accomplished is highly influenced by the environment. In fact, part of what a person is, he/she owes to the environment. It must be noted, that the environment must not only be relatively stable for the most part, but it should also be free from distractions and risks. This is because people tend to veer away from activities and situations that they feel they cannot cope with since their skills and capabilities amount to only so much. Anxiety is one of the effects of such problems stemming from the instability of the environment. An example of the environment being mentioned is the geography of a place- factors which are clearly uncontrollable. The effect of this on individuals is that they tend to make conclusions that the task cannot be done, or that they will have difficulty doing the task, even before they actually start. Social influences that are present in such environments play a big factor in promoting the skills, competencies, interests and values of a task. Therefore a low or high level of personal efficacy depends on the favourability of the environment. People tend to rely partly on their emotional states when it comes to assessing their own capabilities. This is because they tend to blame tension and stress when their level of performance is poor. Arousal is also a factor that may influence an individual’s attitude towards a task at hand. The individual should be in good physical condition to be able to accomplish the task properly. If he/she isn’t feeling well, it follows that the task has a higher chance of not being done as well if the individual was in a good condition to do so. People who have a good sense of personal efficacy are more likely to view their state of arousal to actually encourage them to work harder. But those who tend to doubt their own abilities also tend to use arousal as the reason why they did not work as hard as they should have in the first place. A person’s personality also plays a big factor towards achieving a goal, or completing a task. The Type A personality consists of positive people- those who have a higher sense of self-efficacy and are optimistic in general. They have a higher chance of doing well in anything, as compared to Type B personalities who are easily depressed because of low self-esteem and a pessimistic attitude towards life. It must be added too, that a person’s accomplishment depends on his/her mood as well. People have different lives, and as much as it is desirable that they are in a good mood all the time, nobody can dictate it to be so. It follows though that if the person has a positive mood, the better equipped he/she will be to accomplish anything in life. The factors are said to be high variability/internal determinants of a task. They are strong influences of how well a person performs. All of the variables and determinants mentioned are all causes that all influence an individual’s behaviour towards necessary tasks to be completed. Levels of controllability can be measured by not being influenced by these causes. In other words, these factors appear to be ‘obstacles’ but it does not mean that the task at hand cannot be achieved. However, there are some ‘obstacles’ that still prevail, inhibiting the completion, let alone the accomplishment of a task. For instance, if a person does not have the funds to accomplish a task that depends on money, the task cannot be done. These ‘obstacles’ all depend on luck. Control is lowest during such helpless circumstances, and performance levels tend to be poor. On the other hand, the greater the level of control, the greater the level of self-efficacy should be. Change is an important factor with regards to self-efficacy. Resource insensitive tasks are tasks that do not depend on a person’s ability or effort to be accomplished. On the other hand, resource sensitive tasks are tasks that do depend on a person’s behaviour and abilities. In such cases, the efforts to change one’s self-efficacy is advised. Tasks vary from each other, and some are more important than others. If the task is urgent, then it follows that a person has a choice whether to change his behaviour in order to achieve that task. The person has a choice whether to work hard or just to give in to the obstacles that may come in his/her way and just give up. The ability of an individual to handle himself/herself against all odds is important in achieving self-efficacy. It is a given that not everybody can do everything laid out for him/her to do. The stronger the belief that the causes and the results of a task cannot be controlled, the lower the individual’s performance level is expected to be. It follows then, that this individual also has low self-efficacy. Strategies to improve one’s level of assertiveness, management and leadership skills can be taught to individuals who believe that it is their in-born behaviour and attitude towards tasks that influence its outcome. It is a given that not all determinants can be controlled by the individual or the organization that has given the task. Such factors include the weather, which may dictate if a task should even be carried out or not. However, other factors that can be controlled, such as a person’s effort, knowledge and skills, all depend on a person’s strategy on how to achieve the tasks by pushing himself/herself to go through with the requirement. As mentioned, self-efficacy can be changed. There are three strategies to achieve this. The first strategy consists of first finding out the attributes of a task that is given. This means looking at the task from all angles- the environment it should be done in, how complex or easy the task is, etc. The second strategy requires training of how to achieve the task given to the person. This includes assessing one’s abilities through past experiences or by adopting the concept of ‘modelling’ wherein characteristics may be adopted or changed in order to accomplish the task. Finally, the third strategy consists of knowing one’s performance strategy, analyzing the task and exerting effort on it. This can be done by going through the second strategy which prepares the individual for the third. It must be mentioned though, that since self-efficacy is only a motivating factor, the individual determinants to carry out the task are very important since they influence how hard a person shall work on the task. It has been learned that achievement of tasks can be helped. Counselling has been found out to be very useful, where professionals can help an individual know the positive and negative effects of the task and how it can be done. Therefore, performance and psychological strategies can be addressed. Training an individual on what ‘model’ can be followed when setting out to complete a task is also advised. This way, the individual can be trained on how to make correct judgments. Finally, individuals can be taught how and why he/she should take a better interest in the task required, in order for them to foster a good level of self-efficacy, and in so doing, increase performance levels. All of the strategies mentioned depend on the amount of information available for the individual and the counsellor. This way, self-efficacy can be reviewed by both parties. For instance, if the individual receives good feedback about his/her performance, this raises the level of self-efficacy for this particular individual. In the same way, the counsellor can find out exactly what kind of feedback is necessary to encourage these individuals to work harder. From this journal, it is found that self-efficacy is very important in the workforce, in addition to everyday life. In the workforce, it is understood that self-efficacy is being studied in order to achieve positive results for the organization or the company and its members or employees. These individuals should be trained to work harder, but more importantly, they should be interested in the work they are doing and should have the drive to work harder, if only to prove something to themselves and the organization as a whole. Moreover, if these workers achieve something they never thought they were capable of, then self-efficacy is at work. People who doubt their own capabilities tend to stay away from difficult tasks since they view these tasks as threats. These people have low aspirations and do not commit as well to the goals that they should pursue. In the workforce, such attitudes do not mean well for a company or an organization. This is because in the face of difficulties, they tend to lose faith in their capabilities and are slow to recover during major setbacks. Therefore, this journal explains how important it is to culture a good state of mind in all individuals, not only for the sake of the company, but also themselves. Such an outlook is creditable for producing accomplishments at the end of the day. But the determination to take on tasks that a person never thought could be possible to achieve, is still the biggest accomplishment of all. Read More