BY: KATELYN KERVIN

Self-Efficacy Theory

History/Orientation

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

Dynamic & ongoing process Factors, environmental factors, human behavior exert

influence upon each other.

Factors influence likelihood of changed behavior Self-efficacy, goals & outcome expectancies

Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy is a construct in SCT

Bandura: Most important personal factor in behavior change

Strategies for increasing self-efficacy: Setting goals, behavioral contracting, monitoring and

reinforcement

Early Research

Bandura focused on extraordinary symbolizing capacity of humans.

When people symbolize their experiences it gives structure, meaning & continuity to their lives.

Common Theme

Emphasis given to one’s sense of personal efficacy to produce and regulate events in one’s lives.

Primary determinants of human behavioral change are outcome expectancies & efficacy expectancies.

Outcome & Efficacy Expectancy

Outcome expectancy is the probability that engaging in a specific behavior will lead to a specific outcome.

Efficacy expectancy refers to the belief that one is capable of completing the desired behavior.

Development of Self-Efficacy

Primitive times, people had limited understanding of the world

Appealed supernatural agents who were believed to have control over their lives.

People practiced elaborate rituals in an attempt to gain favor from or protection against the supernatural powers.

Even in contemporary life, people tend to call upon superstitious rituals to sway outcomes in their favor.

Rational

System of self-efficacy is foundation of human motivations & personal achievements.

If people don't believe they can achieve a desired outcome from their actions, they have little to no incentive to act, or continue action when presented with difficulties.

Constructs

Personal mastery (performance accomplishments)

Verbal encouragement (verbal persuasion)

Vicarious mastery (vicarious experience)

Somatic & emotional states (physiological information)

Personal Mastery

PRACTICING!

Vicarious Mastery

Ability to see others perform successfully

Verbal Persuasion

Most often used source: very easy to use

Physiological and Emotional States

People can expect to be more successful when they are not stressed Stress can have a negative effect upon SE

Key Study

Bobo Doll Study

Young femaleBeating a bobo doll.

Variations on Bobo Doll Study

Model being rewarded or punished

Kids were rewarded for their imitations

Model was changed to be less attractive/less prestigious.

Focusing on motivation

Motivation

Past reinforcementPromised reinforcement (incentives that we

can imagine) Vicarious reinforcement (seeing and recalling

the model being reinforced)

Negative reinforcements: past punishment, promised punishment & vicarious punishment

Key Study #2

Control Theory Vs. Self Efficacy Theory

Control theory asserts that self-awareness plays an important role in self-regulation; the self-efficacy theory does not.

Manipulations

Self-efficacy expectancy

Outcome expectancy

Self-awareness

Results

Did not support either self-efficacy theory or control theory.

Efficacy, outcome & self-awareness expectancies all contribute to persistence.

The results of this study largely supported predictions derived from self-efficacy theory.

Weaknesses

Non experimental designs can only suggest how behavior might be controlled.

Experimental designs: know if & how psychosocial variables might be manipulated to effect behavior change.

Participants in nutritional study were affected by their own expectations of negative self-evaluation.

Strengths

As self-efficacy improves in interventions Negative outcome expectations would be offset Self-regulatory behavior boosted leading to healthier

food choices

Criticisms

Argue SE is a cause of behavior, not merely a predictor

Interest theory predicts that it is student interest in a subject that predicts student achievement.

Attribution theory

Survey

5 point scale: “Very confident,” “confident,” “neither confident nor not confident,” “not confident,” and “very not confident.”

25 questions total, assessing the four constructs

Subjects

30 student-athlete adolescents from a local north shore high school.

Ages ranged from 14-18 yrs 16 females & 14 males Randomly selected: Track and Field program.

Objective

Nutrition Education Intervention

16-week intervention Behavioral approach to lifestyle change & nutrition

education to improve self-efficacy.

List of nutritious dietary options

Attend nutrition education & behavior modification sessions every week along with their parent(s).

Goals

To have the entire track and field team of 94 individuals to have high self-efficacy about eating healthy and making nutritious decisions daily by the end of the 2009 season.

To have the local north shore high school make positive changes in their lunch menu to increase personal mastery of eating healthy and making nutritious decisions.

Goals Continued…

To have the communities in which the local north shore high school is located have a positive impact on the changes within the high school.

To have local restaurants improve their menu’s to accommodate a healthy student-athlete diet.

To have the parents and colleagues of the student-athletes have a high self-efficacy themselves about eating healthy and making nutritious decisions daily.

To have all athletic sports teams to have high self-efficacy about eating healthy and making nutritious decisions daily by the end of the 2010 school year.

More Goals

Strategies

Healthy foods more accessible at school

Discourage foods high in fat & sodium

Peer role models Peer led nutrition education activities

To provide role models: Teachers, parents, celebrities for healthy eating

Posters & incentives that students design Encourages students to make healthy choices about

eating