Four Sources Of Self-Efficacy In The Classroom

1.2.3 SOURCES OF SELF-EFFICACY
Bandura (1977) outlined four sources of information that individuals employ to judge their efficacy: performance outcomes (performance accomplishments), vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological feedback (emotional arousal). These components help individuals determine if they believe they have the capability to accomplish specific tasks. Williams and Williams (2010) note that “individuals with high levels of self-efficacy approach difficult tasks as challenges to master rather than as threats to be avoided” (p. 455).
Mastery Experience (Performance Accomplishments)
According to Bandura, performance outcomes, or past experiences, are the most important source of self-efficacy. Individuals gauge

A person can watch another perform and then compare his own competence with the other individual’s competence (Bandura, 1977). If a person sees someone similar to them succeed, it can increase their self-efficacy. However, the opposite is also true; seeing someone similar fail can lower self-efficacy. An example of how vicarious experiences can increase self-efficacy in the school setting is through mentoring programs, where one student is paired with someone on a similar task who will be successful at raising the individual’s self-efficacy beliefs. An example of how the opposite can be true is in a smoking cessation program, where, if individuals witness several people fail to quit, they may worry about their own chances of success, leading to low self-efficacy for

He termed the belief in one’s abilities as personal self-efficacy. Personal self-efficacy is believed to be domain-specific and is developed throughout a person’s life in four ways: cognitive, modeling, social persuasion and mood (Bandura, 1994, 1997, 2003). Cognitive self-efficacy pertains to aspirations and is developed “by visualizing successful outcomes instead of dwelling on personal deficiencies or ways in which things might go wrong” (Bandura, 2003, p. 4). Developing this type of self-efficacy entails successful handling of a crisis or difficult situations. It is less important whether the situation resolves itself favorably, but that the individual was able to handle the crisis. Adverse situations and threats provide the type of stressful situations that students must overcome as they continue to develop the skills necessary to be successful in a given area. Personally inefficacious students have often made the commitment to avoid the stress and anxiety associated with performing a difficult task. By doing so, they have eliminated the possibility of failure but also of growth and