According to Ormrod (2012), self-efficacy addresses the question “How well can I do such-and-such?” (p.128). In other words, it refers to one’s belief about their ability to perform specific activities. Individuals can either have high or low self-efficacy with different activities. It can be a driving force to either persuade one to act or refrain one from acting. The thing that comes to my mind is the childhood story "The Little Engine That Could." This is a classic story for children, introducing themes of perseverance and determination. "I think I can, I think I can" are the inspirational words that we all associate with this book. High self-efficacy says-I think I can.
According to LeVan (2010), ways in which one can boost your self-efficacy include:
Take One Step at A Time
Self-efficacy is developed, in part, through success and even small achievements can pack a powerful punch. Pick one small change you’d like to make and go for it. Then pick another small change. Then another. Reflect on each success before moving on to your next small goal. Like any other change, enhancing self-efficacy is best achieved one step at a time.
See to Believe
Visualization is a powerful tool. Not only is seeing believing, when it comes to self-efficacy, believing is seeing…. results. Visualization not only primes your brain for success and enhances self-efficacy, it also helps you to see the smaller steps you need to take to reach your end goal.
Find a Role Model
Admire someone else’s success. When you see someone else succeed, especially someone who you identify with, you are more apt to believe that you can achieve too. Hence, having one or two good role models can vicariously bolster your sense of self-efficacy.
Accept Self-Doubt…but Put it in its Place
Managing your self-doubt is just one more way to keep “I think I can’t” thoughts from derailing your success. When self-defeating thoughts bubble up, accept them as part of the process and move on. These types of thoughts don’t necessarily reflect your true capabilities. The key is to not let them stop you from moving forward.
Get Happy
A good mood can also boost self-efficacy while a bad mood can undermine it. Write out all the things that uplift you (i.e. special songs, favorite quotes, etc) and use them to your advantage as you navigate towards your goals.
Solicit Social Support
Another great way to build self-efficacy beliefs is to elicit encouragement from friends and family and to stay away from those who discourage you. Quality social support is a key ingredient to self-efficacy, persistence, and ultimately success. Find your best advocates and invite them to be part of your campaign for change (para 7).
Why is it important?
Self-efficacy is important because it affects people's decisions to undertake certain tasks. It affects their belief regarding their ability to complete the task successfully. Because of this, one's choices of activities, goals, effort and persistence, and ultimately learning and achievement can be affected (Ormrod, 2012). Individuals set goals depending on areas they feel they can succeed in. People set higher goals for themselves when they have high self-efficacy in a particular area (Ormrod, 2012, p. 128).
Not only does self-efficacy affect individual's goals, but it also affects one's perseverance and effort. If an individual is confident in a certain area, or with an activity, they will invest more effort into that task. According to Ormrod (2012), individuals with low self-efficacy about a task put less effort into it and give up more quickly when faced with difficulty (p. 128).
Lastly, self-efficacy can affect one's learning and achievement. Ormrod (2012), says that individuals with high self-efficacy tend to learn and achieve more than those with low self-efficacy, even when the initial ability levels are the same (p.129).
- View challenging problems as tasks to be mastered
- Develop deeper interest in the activities in which they participate
- Form a stronger sense of commitment to their interests and activities
- Recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments (Cherry, n.d.)
- Avoid challenging tasks
- Believe that difficult tasks and situations are beyond their capabilities
- Focus on personal failings and negative outcomes
- Quickly lose confidence in personal abilities (Cherry, n.d.)
How is it used?
Self-efficacy is an important concept that nurses need to remember when caring for patients. Knowing how it affects one’s behavior can be helpful. Also knowing what factors affect the development of self-efficacy can better help nurses understand what their patients may be experiencing. Self-efficacy can be enhanced through encouragement and praise from others. As educators, we should always provide our patients with the assurance and motivation they need.
To enhance one's self-efficacy, educators can make use of the factors that seem to promote self-efficacy. For instance, educators can tell patients about other patients similar to themselves and how they mastered certain tasks. In addition, educators can plan group activities with patients diagnosed with the same diseases so that patients can collaborate and see that they are not alone. A
study conducted by the Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing found
that patient education had a significant effect on self efficacy in
patients (Atak, 2009). By educating the patients and exposing them to patients with similiar diagnoses, patients are better educated and feel a sense of high self-efficacy. Educators can also help foster high self-efficacy by helping patients achieve success for themselves. For example, by helping them master essential basic skills and providing guidance and support for tackling more advanced, difficult ones (Ormrod, 2012, p. 139).
Advantages/Disadvantages
There are many factors that can affect the development of one’s self-efficacy negatively or positively. This includes: one’s previous successes and failures, current emotional state, the messages that others communicate, success and failures of others, and the success and failures of one’s group (Ormrod, 2012, p. 129).
- Previous Successes and Failures- Individuals are more likely to believe that they can accomplish or learn an activity if they have previously succeeded. For example, Sam will feel more confident learning about subtraction if he has already successfully mastered addition.
- Current Emotional State- Ormrod (2012), says that students who feel anxious or agitated during an activity may think that those feelings are a sign of low ability of the task or activity, even if the source of the feeling is unrelated (p.130). Because of unwanted feelings, individuals may stray away from certain activities.
- Messages from Others- Self-efficacy can be enhanced for individuals if they receive praise for a good performance or assurance that they can succeed from others (Cherry, n.d.)
- Successes and Failures of Others- By observing individuals similar to themselves, individuals can acquire information about their own self-efficacy concerning different tasks (Ormrod, 2012, p. 130).
- Successes and Failures of the Group- Individuals may have a higher self-efficacy when they work in groups. Collective Self-efficacy is one's perception of how effectively they can work together with a group and coordinate their roles and responsibilities (Cherry, n.d.).
Theories
According to Ormrod (2012), self-efficacy has figured more prominently in theories of learning and motivation than have self-esteem, in part because researchers have defined it more consistently, and in part, because it's often more predictive of learners' performance (p. 128). The concept of self-efficacy is evident in Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory.
Bandura believed self-efficacy was the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage different situations (LeVan, 2012). In other words, self-efficacy is a person’s belief in his or her ability to succeed in a particular situation. Bandura described these beliefs as determinants of how people think, behave, and feel (Cherry, n.d.). According to Yang (2012), self-management programs, based on Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, are useful to improve health care outcomes for patients with chronic diseases (para 1).
Related Links
Listed below are links that may be helpful!
Self-Efficacy Theory
