Self Efficacy Paper

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Pages: 3

The concept of self-efficacy is part of Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory (Albert Bandura, 1994). It describes as an individual’s belief about what he can and cannot do. This self-belief can play a decisive role in the impetus and perseverance as well as determine one’s ability to use and develop different strategies to succeed (Albert Bandura, 1994; Zimmerman, 2000). There are two different views on self-efficacy. First, Bandura claims that measuring self-efficacy should evaluate specific domains or tasks and that measures of general self-efficacy may lead to ambiguous results (Albert Bandura, 2006). On the other hand, other researchers consider that self-efficacy can be a general trait and, as such, represent a person’s general conviction that he could do well in a number of areas of his life (Sherer & E.Maddux, 1982). …show more content…
And so, I used the most recent version of General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) (Annex 1) designed by Schwarzer and Jerusalem. This questionnaire evaluates how individuals perceived their own ability to succeed in the face of new situations or life stresses. The 1995 scale (Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, 1995) – an updated version of the one they developed in 1979 – has been adapted in about 33 languages. This GSE scale has been widely used, mainly outside of the USA, (Scherbaum & Kern, 2006).

Positive correlations were found between general self-efficacy and optimism, as well as with well-being and the use of better coping strategies. While negative correlation were found between GSE and depression, stress and anxiety (Luszczynska, Scholz, & Schwarzer, 2005) as well as with procrastination (Scholz, Gutiérrez Doña, Sud, & Schwarzer, 2002). More important to me at this time is the demonstrated relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance (McKenzie & Schweitzer, 2001; Multon, Brown, & Lent,