Self-Efficacy Theory.

Albert Bandura is a contemporary psychologist who has been known for his greatest
contribution in the field of psychology. He was one of the well-known psychologists who have
much of his work centers about social learning theory. One of his proposed and developed
theories is the self-efficacy theory, wherein it refers to the beliefs of an individual in ones
capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments
(Bandura, 1977). Its basic principle is that individuals are more likely to engage in activities for
which they have high self-efficacy and less likely to engage in those they do not (Van der Bijl &
Shortridge-Baggett, 2002). According to Bandura (1997), the self-efficacy beliefs are the one
who establishes the human agency of an individual. It influence the courses of action people
choose to pursue, how much effort they put forth in given actions, how long they will persevere
in the face of obstacles and failures, their resilience to adversity, whether their thought patterns
are self-hindering or self-aiding, how much stress and depression they experience in coping with
environmental demands, and the level of accomplishments they realize.
According to Gecas (2004), people behave in the way that executes their initial beliefs;
thus, self-efficacy functions as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Self-efficacy is the belief in ones own
ability to successfully accomplish something. It makes a difference in how people feel, think,
behave, and motivate their own selves in terms of feeling, a low sense of self-efficacy is
associated with stress, depression, anxiety, and helplessness (Bandura,1995). The self-efficacy
beliefs determine their level of motivation, as reflected in how much effort they will exert in an
attempt and how long they will persevere in the face of obstacles (Bandura, 1989).

In the study of Bandura (1986), the awareness regarding ones self-efficacy is based on
four sources of information: performance attainments, vicarious experiences obtained through
observing the performance of others, verbal persuasion, and physiological states. The most
influential source of efficacy is the performance attainment based on the actual mastery
experience wherein it form the expectations that are generalized to other situations that may be
similar or substantially different from the original experience. Successes result in increased selfefficacy toward the task, and repeated failures, especially if occurring early in task learning,
lower self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986, 1995). The self-efficacy is firmly established, an occasional
failure has little effect (Bandura, 1986).
For the present study, the self-efficacy theory can support the hypothesis that the belief
about oneself is a factor to be considered apart from the extrinsic motivation in predicting the
individual spatial and logical-mathematical ability.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H.

Bandura, A. (1995). Self-efficacy in changing societies. New York: Cambridge University
Bandura, A. & Wood, R.E. (1989). Effect of perceived controllability and performance standards
on self-regulation of complex decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 805814. Freeman.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. (1977).Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological
Review,84, 191-215.

Gecas, V. (2004). Self-Agency and the Life Course. In: Mortimer JT, Shanahan MJ, editors.
Handbook of the Life Course. New York: Springer; pp. 36990.