Sources of Self-efficacy

The most effective way to build self-efficacy is to engage in mastery experiences.

These mastery experiences can be defined as a personal experience of success.

Achieving difficult goals in the face of adversity helps build confidence and strengthen perseverance.

Another source of self-efficacy is through vicarious experiences of social models.

Seeing someone, who you view as similar to yourself, succeed at something difficult can motivate you to believe that you have the skills necessary to achieve a similar goal.

However, the inverse of the previous statement is true as well. Seeing someone fail at a task can lead to doubt in personal skills and abilities.

It is important to note that “The greater the assumed similarity, the more persuasive are the models' successes and failures.”

A third source of self-efficacy is found through strengthening the belief that one has the ability to succeed.

Those who are positively persuaded that they have the ability to complete a given task show a greater and more sustained effort to complete a task.

It also lowers the effect of self-doubt in a person.

However, it is important to remember that those who are doing the encouraging, put the person in a situation where success is more often.

If they are put in a situation prematurely with no hope of any success, it can undermine self-efficacy.