Do you often doubt your abilities? Do you feel like you can’t achieve your goals? Are you feeling insecure about your future? If your answer is yes, then you may lack self-efficacy. So, what is self-efficacy? Why is it so important? How to improve self-efficacy? This article will answer these questions for you, help you improve your self-confidence, and realize your dreams.
What is self-efficacy?
Self-efficacy refers to a person’s confidence or belief in one’s ability to successfully complete a task or achieve a goal. It is an important concept proposed by psychologist Albert Bandura in social cognitive theory. Bandura believes that self-efficacy is a specific, situation-related, multi-dimensional and dynamic concept. It is not a fixed trait, but an ability that can be improved.
According to Bandura’s theory, self-efficacy mainly comes from four aspects of information: mastery experience, imitation experience, verbal persuasion and physiological response.
- Mastery experience refers to the positive feedback an individual receives by successfully completing a task or achieving a goal. It is the most direct and powerful source of self-efficacy.
- Imitation experience refers to an individual’s ability to learn and improve himself by observing and imitating the behavior of others. It can enhance an individual’s self-efficacy, especially when the observed object and the individual are similar.
- Verbal persuasion refers to the encouragement, praise, support and trust of others to an individual, which can enhance an individual’s self-efficacy, especially when the persuader has authority and credibility.
- Physiological reaction refers to the physical and emotional state of an individual when facing a certain task or goal. It can affect an individual’s self-efficacy, especially when the individual has a negative interpretation of his or her reaction.
Why is self-efficacy so important?
Self-efficacy not only affects a person’s behavioral choices, behavioral performance, and behavioral consequences, but also affects a person’s cognition, motivation, and emotions.
In terms of cognition, self-efficacy affects an individual’s cognitive evaluation of his or her abilities, difficulty of tasks, expectations for results, and interpretation of feedback. In terms of motivation, self-efficacy affects an individual’s level of motivation in setting his own goals, investing in his own efforts, persevering to himself, and his ability to self-regulate. In terms of emotions, self-efficacy affects an individual’s emotional experience when facing a task or goal, such as interest, optimism, pride, satisfaction, anxiety, fear, depression, etc.
People with high self-efficacy are more likely to:
- Accept challenges and adventures
- Persistence in hard work and overcoming difficulties
- Maintain a positive and optimistic attitude
- Enjoy success and satisfaction
In contrast, people with low self-efficacy are more likely to:
- Avoid difficulties and risks
- Give up efforts and give in to failure
- Produce negative and pessimistic emotions
- Feeling anxious and depressed
Therefore, self-efficacy is a key factor in a person’s personal and professional development.
How to measure self-efficacy?
Self-efficacy is a concrete, context-dependent, multidimensional, and dynamic concept, and therefore, methods for measuring self-efficacy should conform to these characteristics. Generally speaking, there are two methods of measuring self-efficacy: questionnaire method and behavioral method. The questionnaire method refers to designing some questions related to specific fields or tasks to allow subjects to rate their abilities or confidence to obtain self-efficacy scores. The behavioral method refers to obtaining indicators of self-efficacy by observing and recording the actual behavior of subjects in specific fields or tasks, such as choice, persistence, performance, etc. Questionnaire methods and behavioral methods each have their own advantages and disadvantages, and generally need to be used in combination to improve the validity and reliability of measurement.
If you want to know how high your self-efficacy is, you can take PsycTest’s free online test to find out your self-efficacy level. This test contains 10 simple questions that only take a few minutes of your time to get your self-efficacy score and explanation. PsycTest is a professional psychological testing platform that provides a variety of psychological tests, including personality, emotion, intelligence, career, love, etc. You can use these tests to understand your own psychological characteristics, discover your strengths and potential, and improve your quality of life. Click here to start your self-efficacy test!
How to improve self-efficacy?
If you find that your self-efficacy is not high enough, don’t be discouraged. There are several ways you can improve your self-efficacy:
- Set specific and achievable goals. You can set some short-term and long-term goals based on your interests and abilities, and then break them down into small steps to complete one by one. In this way, you can see your progress, feel your achievements, and increase your confidence.
- Ask for positive feedback. You can seek their evaluation and advice from your family, friends, teachers, colleagues, etc., listen to their affirmation and encouragement, and also accept their criticism and guidance. In this way, you can understand your strengths and weaknesses, improve your performance, and improve your level.
- Imitate successful role models. You can find some people you admire and appreciate, learn from their thoughts and behaviors, learn from their experiences and methods, and simulate their situations and emotions. In this way, you can draw on their strength to inspire your potential and pursue your dreams.
- Develop a positive mindset. You can relax your body and mind, eliminate your stress, and regulate your emotions by reading, listening to music, meditating, exercising, etc. You can also improve your self-esteem, increase your confidence, and improve your self-image through self-affirmation, self-motivation, and self-reward.
Self-efficacy is an ability that can be improved. As long as you are willing, you can improve your self-efficacy, achieve your goals, and enjoy your life through hard work and practice.
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