Tero International, Inc. Your Elite Training Team
Tero International, Inc. Your Elite Training Team
"If you think you can, you probably can. If you think you can't ---well that self-limiting and self-fulfilling belief might well stop you doing something you're perfectly capable of doing." - Albert Bandura
The power of believing in one's abilities when facing a challenging situation is when we say, "I think, I can do it," or "let me try, I can handle it." It is the grit and self-assurance to cope with problematic or unpredictable conditions. Psychologist call this phenomenon as "self-efficacy." Self-efficacy or believing in oneself is the prime predictor that makes people winners or losers in any given situation. The question is: what makes some people face daunting situations with great courage, while others give up?
History has ample examples of how some people with strong self-efficacy became successful despite all odds against them. To mention a few, Walt Disney, the internationally successful businessman, was fired from his job at the age of 22 from a Missouri newspaper for "not being creative enough." Oprah Winfrey's first boss told her she was too emotional and not right for the television, and later on, her show became one of the highest-rated shows in American history (CBS News). Former President Barack Obama mobilized his electoral base with the slogan "Yes, we can' and became the first Black President of the USA. What did all these people or other such successful individuals have in common? The significant factor to their success was their persistence, sustained effort, and profound belief in themselves.
Dr. Albert Bandura of Stanford University conceptualized and published the self-efficacy theory in 1977 under the title, "Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change." This theory became the most significant contribution to the science of psychology in the 20th century. According to Bandura, self-efficacy is:
"People's belief about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives. Self-efficacy beliefs determine how people feel, think, motivate themselves, and behave."
Miriam Akhtar, a positive psychology trainer, describes self-efficacy "...the belief we have in our abilities, specifically our ability to meet the challenges ahead of us and complete a task successfully (Akhtar, 2008)."
Cambridge Dictionary defines it as "a person's belief that they can be successful when carrying out a particular task."
The shared elements to all these definitions are that self-efficacy is one's belief in his/her abilities in accomplishing a task, meeting challenges, and delivering positive results. Efficacy may be general or specific. General efficacy is when a person embodies a profound belief in one's overall abilities to succeed. Specific efficacy is related to mastery and competency in particular skills, e.g., ability to succeed in academics, public speaking, or sports. Self-efficacy is frequently confused with other self-concepts such as self-confidence, self-esteem, or self-realization. Despite certain common fundamentals, there are also vital differences in these concepts.
According to Bandura, "Confidence is a common term that refers to the strength of belief but does not necessarily specify what the certainty is about... Perceived self-efficacy refers to belief in one's agentive capabilities that one can produce a given level of attainment." Self-confidence assures the accomplishment of a challenging task, but may not provide certainty of the desired outcome. While self-efficacy represents an unwavering belief in one-self in delivering results. Nevertheless, these are closely linked concepts; the more confident a person is, the higher is the probability of succeeding.
Efficacy is neither an innate trait that we are born with and nor it is part of our DNA. Social psychologists have tried to find out how emotional, psychological, and other environmental factors enhance it. Albert Bandura specifies four methods to enhance one's Self-Efficacy:
According to Bandura, "Seeing people similar to oneself succeed by sustained effort raises observers' beliefs that they too possess the capabilities to master comparable activities to succeed."
Bandura states, "it is not the sheer intensity of emotional and physical reactions that is important but rather how they are perceived and interpreted." (Self-efficacy) Minimize stressful situations and anxiety to remain effective.
James Maddux and other social psychologists have further suggested significant factors to improve efficacy:
In this age of knowledge-driven, data-based, and technology-centered societies, individuals have to regain the internal locus of control to succeed. Psychologists, entrepreneurs, and leaders in all facets of society are using the techniques and methods of self-efficacy in understanding and motivating people to succeed.
Administrators, entrepreneurs have developed multiple kinds of surveys, scales, and questionnaires to measure prospective employees' efficacy. Scores on these tests are a predictor of their success and to understand how hard or not they may try on a job to succeed (Self-efficacy Scales).
Employers use results of these scales to select employees who are confident to try anything new, display a pragmatic attitude and are willing to adapt to unfamiliar situations. Research shows, "Employees with low levels of self-efficacy will choose less challenging goals for themselves and vice versa. (Performance in the Workplace)." Persistence, resilience, and involvement in the job are some of the indicators of efficacy to show if employees will adjust to the workplace challenges or not.
Self-efficacy has become the foundation for the progressive movement of the 20th century. According to Akhtar, "It is the optimistic self-belief in our competence or chances of successfully accomplishing a task and producing a favorable outcome." It has led to beliefs that difficulties and failures do not imply defeat; those are stepping stones to achieve loftier goals.
Application of efficacy is fundamental to people's empowerment movement. Health Psychology, education, sports are some of the favorite disciplines to implement the approaches of efficacy. For example, in supporting obese people to lose weight, they are encouraged by suggesting they can do it and attain the desirable results.
The theory of self-efficacy is known to represent the most singular contribution to the field of behavioral sciences in the last century. However, the concept is not contemporary. Literature vastly covers it in a very subtle and simple form. We are all familiar with the fascinating story of "The Little Engine that Could." The story goes that when all big engines refused to pull the train over the mountain because they thought it was too hard to do so, the little engine said, "I think, I can, I think, I can." The little engine carefully pulled the train and saved the day by delivering presents to children in time. The moral of the story is that the successful accomplishment of a task depends on believing in oneself and showing determination to accomplish it.
Self-efficacy represents a trait and skill that can be built upon and enhanced. It is not an innate trait that we inherit through genes. All it takes is some grit, determination, and belief in one's abilities to handle a task. People who do not believe in themselves eventually become ineffectual, incompetent, and undoubtedly have a difficult time to face the realities of life. In the words of Bandura:
"In order to succeed, people need a sense of self-efficacy, struggle together with resilience to meet the inevitable obstacles and inequities of life."
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