(Comm 89) Social Cognitive theory: Maddux

How do vicarious experiences affect efficacy beliefs and our sense of agency as they continue to develop throughout our lifespan?

Self-efficacy beliefs are influenced also by our observations of the behavior of others and the consequences of those behaviors. We use this information to form expectancies about our own behavior and its consequences, depending primarily on the extent to which we believe that we are similar to the person we are observing. Vicarious experiences generally have weaker effects on self-efficacy expectancy than do performance experiences

Describe how Self-efficacy beliefs are not outcome expectancies or behavior-outcome expectancies

Self-efficacy beliefs are not outcome expectancies or behavior-outcome expectancies . A behavior-outcome expectancy is my belief that a specific behavior may lead to a specific outcome in a specific situation. A self-efficacy belief, simply put, is the belief that I can perform the behavior that produces the outcome.

Describe the 3rd of the three interacting components of self regulation: Self-efficacy beliefs pt 1

Self-efficacy beliefs influence self-regulation in several ways. First, self-efficacy influences the goals we set. The higher my self-efficacy in a specific achievement domain, the loftier will be the goals that I set for myself in that domain.

How is self efficacy not predictions about behavior?

Self-efficacy is concerned not with that I believe I will do but with what I believe I can do.

Describe how Self-efficacy is not a motive, drive, or need for control.

Self-efficacy is not a motive, drive, or need for control. I can have a strong need for control in a particular domain, and still hold weak beliefs about my efficacy for that domain.

Describe how self efficacy is not self esteem.

Self-efficacy is not self-esteem. Self-esteem is what I believe about myself, and how I feel about what I believe about myself. Efficacy beliefs in a given domain will contribute to my self-esteem only in direct proportion to the important I place on that domain.

Describe the 2nd of the three interacting components of self regulation: Self-evaluative reactions

Self-evaluative reactions are important in self-regulation because our beliefs about the progress we are making (or not making) toward our goals are major determinants of our emotional reactions during goal-directed activity. These emotional reactions, in turn, can enhance or disrupt self-regulation.

Despite a lack of consensus on its measurement (Bandura, 1997; Maddux, 1999),collective efficacy has been found to be important to a number of "collectives" such as?

The moreefficacious spouses feel about their shared ability to accomplish important shared goals, the more satisfied they are with their marriages. The collective efficacy of an athletic team can be raised or lowered by false feedback about ability and can subsequently influence its success in competitions. The individual and collective efficacy of teachers for effective instruction seems to affect the academic achievement of school children. The effectiveness of self-managing work teams and group "brainstorming" also seems to be related to a collective sense of efficacy.

Describe strategies for enhancing self efficacy which focus on performance experience.

The phrase "seeing is believing" underscores the importance ofproviding people with tangible evidence of their success. When people actually can see themselves coping effectively with difficult situations, their sense of mastery is likely to be heightened. These experiences are likely to be most successful when both goals and strategies are specific. Goals that are concrete, specific, and proximal (short-range) provide greater incentive, motivation, evidence of efficacy than goals that are abstract, vague, and set in the distant future. Specific goals allow people to identify the specific behaviors needed for successful achievement and to know when they have succeeded

Self-efficacy theory and social cognitive theory are concerned less with understanding pathology and concerned more with understanding ________?

The positive aspects of psychological functioning.

Describe the 3rd of the three interacting components of self regulation: Self-efficacy beliefs pt 3

Third, self-efficacy for solving problems and making decisions influences the efficiency and effectiveness of problem-solving and decision-making.

(T/F) A sense of control over our behavior, our environment, and our own thoughts and feelings is essential for happiness and a sense of well-being.

True

(T/F) Beliefs about self and world need not always be accurate to be adaptive.

True

(T/F) People see the extraordinary feats of others but not the unwavering commitment and countless hours ofperseverant effort that produced them. They then overestimate the role of "talent" inthese accomplishments, while underestimating the role of self-regulation.

True

(T/F) Positive psychology and social cognitive theory both emphasize the social embeddedness of the individual.

True

(T/F) Self-efficacy beliefs also influence the activation of catecholamines, a family of neurotransmitters important to the management of stress and perceived threat, along with the endogenous painkillers referred toas endorphins

True

(T/F) Self-efficacy beliefs are not casual attributions

True

(T/F) Self-efficacy is not an intention to behave or an intention to attain a particular goal.

True

(T/F) a concept of perceived mastery limited to individuals will have limited utility.

True

(T/F) cognitive therapy of anxiety and fear problems often involves modifying visual images of danger and anxiety, including images of coping effectively with the feared situation. Imaginal (covert) modeling has been used successfully in interventions to increase assertive behavior and self-efficacy for assertiveness

True

(T/F) most professionally guided interventions are designed to enhance self-regulation because they are concerned with helping gain or regain a sense of efficacy over important aspects of their lives

True

self-efficacy plays a powerful role in attempts to overcome substance abuse problems and eating disorders (T/F)

True

Of course, personal efficacy and collective efficacy go hand-in-hand because a "collection of inveterate self-doubters is not easily forged into _______?

a collectively efficacious force

social cognitive theory

an approach to understanding human cognition, action, motivation, and emotion that assumes that we are active shapers of rather than simply passive reactors to our environments

we need to be continually vigilant for success experiences and actively retrieve past successes in times of _______?

challenge and doubt

In a world in which communication across the globe often is faster than communication across the street, and in which cooperation and collaboration in commerce and government is becoming increasingly common and increasingly crucial, understanding ____________ will become increasingly important.

collective efficacy

collective efficacy

collective efficacy is the extent to which we believe that we can work together effectively to accomplish our shared goals

Psychological adjustment is enhanced by minor distortions in the perception of _________?

control over important life events

Those with low self-efficacy also will respond to difficulties with increased anxiety, which usually ________?

disrupts performance, thereby further lowering self-efficacy, and so on

Parents can facilitate or hinder the development of this sense of agency not only by their responses to the infant's or child's actions, but also by _______?

encouraging and enablingthe child to explore and master his or her environment.

researchers have shown that enhancing self-efficacy beliefs is crucial to successful change and maintenance of virtually every behavior crucial to health, including ______?

exercise, diet, stress management, safe sex, smoking cessation, overcoming alcohol abuse, compliance with treatment and prevention regimens, and disease detection behaviors.

Self- regulation (simplified) depends on which three interacting components?

goals or standards of performance; self-evaluative reactions to performance; and self-efficacy beliefs.

the most effective interventions for phobias and fears involve _________?

guided mastery - in vivo experience with the feared object or situation duringtherapy sessions, or between sessions as "homework" assignments

Encouraging discouraged people to believe that they are more competent than they think they are (based on their own observations) may prompt them _________?

into action and lead to efficacy-enhancing success.

How does Self efficacy relate to one's skills?

it is what I believe I can do with my skills under certain conditions.

children usually develop a sense of efficacy from engaging in actions that _______?

manipulate the people around them, which then generalizes to the non-social environment.

The basic premise of self-efficacy theory is that _______?

people's beliefs in their capabilities toproduce desired effects by their own actions are the most importantdeterminants of the behaviors people choose to engage in and how much they persevere in their efforts in the face of obstacles and challenges.

self-efficacy beliefs develop over ________?

time and through experience.

Causal attributions are explanations we provide ourselves for our own behavior and the behavior of others. Causal attributions influence self-efficacy and vice versa. For this reason, we should attribute successes to our own effort and ability rather than ________?

to environmental circumstances or to the expertise and insights of the others.

Self-efficacy theory and social cognitive theory also are concerned less with risk factors and protective factors and concerned more with _______?

with enablement factors - the personal resources that allow people "to select and structure their environments inways that set a successful course for their lives"

Accomplishing importance goals in groups, organizations, and societies always has depended on the ability of individuals to identify the abilities of _________ and to _______________?

Accomplishing importance goals in groups, organizations, and societies always has depended on the ability of individuals to identify the abilities of other individuals and to harness these abilities to accomplish common goals.

Describe how self-efficacy is not an intention to behave or an intention to attain a particular goal.

An intention is what I say I will probably do; and research has shown that intentions are influenced by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, efficacy beliefs

How do verbal persuasion affect efficacy beliefs and our sense of agency as they continue to develop throughout our lifespan?

Efficacy beliefs are influenced by what others say to us about what they believe we can or cannot do. The potency of verbal persuasion as a source of self-efficacy expectancies will be influenced by such factors as the expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness of the source, as suggested by decades of research on verbal persuasion and attitude change. Verbal persuasion is a less potent source of enduring change in self-efficacy expectancy than performance experiences and vicarious experiences.

What is the second premise of social cognitive theory?

Environmental events, inner personal factors (cognition, emotion, and biological events), and behaviors are reciprocal influences. We respond cognitively, effectively, and behaviorally to environmental events. Also, through cognition we exercise control over our own behavior, which then influences not only the environment but also our cognitive, affective and biological states.

(T/F) Self-efficacy is perceived skill

False

What is the first of two interacting factors that influence the early development of self efficacy?

First, it is influenced by the development of the capacity for symbolic thought, particularly the capacity for understanding cause-effect relationships and the capacity for self-observation and self-reflection. The development of a sense of personal agency begins in infancy and moves from the perception of the causal relationship between events, to an understanding that actions produce results, to the recognition that one can produce actions that cause results . Children must learn that one even can cause another event; that they are separate from other things and people; and that, therefore, they can be the origin of actions that effect their environments.

Describe the first of two ways beliefs about self-efficacy influence health

First, self-efficacy influences the adoption of healthy behaviors, the cessation of unhealthy behaviors, and the maintenance of behavioral changes in the face of challenge and difficulty.

Describe how self-efficacy plays a powerful role in attempts to overcome substance abuse problems and eating disorders.

For each of these problems, enhancing self- efficacy for overcoming the problem and for implementing self-control strategies in specific challenging situations is essential to the success of therapeutic interventions

Describe the 1st of the three interacting components of self regulation: goals

Goals are essential to self-regulation because we attempt to regulate our actions, thoughts, and emotions to achieve desired outcomes. The ability to envision desired future events and states allows us to create incentives that motivate and guide our actions. Through our goals, we adopt personal standards and evaluate our behavior against these standards.

Describe strategies for enhancing self efficacy which focus on Imaginal experience.

Imagining ourselves engaging in feared behaviors or overcoming difficulties can be used to enhance self-efficacy. Because maladaptive distorted imagery is an important component of anxiety and depression, various techniques have been developed to help clients modify distortions and maladaptive assumptions contained in their visual images of danger and anxiety. A client can gain a sense of control over a situation by imagining a future self that can deal effectively with the situation.

Describe strategies for enhancing self efficacy which focus on Verbal persuasion in cognitive and cognitive behavioral therapies.

In cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies, the therapist engages the client in adiscussion of the client's dysfunctional beliefs, attitudes, and expectancies and helps the client see the irrationality and self-defeating nature of such beliefs. The therapist encourages the client to adopt new, more adaptive beliefs and to act on these new beliefs and expectancies. As a result, the client experiences the successes that can lead to more enduring changes in self- efficacy beliefs and adaptive behavior

Describe how self-efficacy is relevant to understanding depression.

Low self-efficacy expectancies are an important feature of depression. Depressed people usually believe they are less capable than other people of behaving effectively in many important areas of life. Dysfunctional anxiety and avoidant behavior are often the direct result of low self- efficacy expectancies for managing threatening situations

The timeless message of research on self-efficacy is the simple, powerful truth that confidence, effort, and persistence are _______ potent than innate ability.

More

Describe how self efficacy is not a personality trait.

Most conceptions of competence and control -including self-esteem, locus of control , optimism , hope, hardiness, learned resourcefulness, -- are conceived as traits or trait-like. Self-efficacy is defined and measured not as a trait but as beliefs about the ability to coordinate skills and abilities to attain desired goals in particular domains and circumstances. Measures of "general" self-efficacy have been developed and are used frequently in research, but they have not been as useful as more specific self-efficacy measures in predicting what people will do under more specific circumstances

Describe strategies for enhancing self efficacy which focus on Verbal persuasion.

Most formal psychological interventions rely strongly on verbalpersuasion to enhance a client's self-efficacy and encouraging small risks that may lead to small successes. People rely daily on verbal persuasion as a self-efficacy facilitator by seeking the support of other people when attempting to lose weight, quit smoking, maintain an exercise program, or summon up the courage to confront a difficult boss or loved one.

Are self-efficacy beliefs simply predictions about behavior?

No

How do personal experiences affect efficacy beliefs and our sense of agency as they continue to develop throughout our lifespan?

Our own attempts to control our environments are the most powerful source of self- efficacy information . Successful attempts at control that I attribute to my own efforts will strengthen self-efficacy for that behavior or domain. Perceptions of failure at control attempts usually diminish self-efficacy.

Efficacy beliefs and a sense of agency continue to develop throughout the lifespan as we continually integrate information from what five primary sources?

Performance experiences, vicarious experiences, imaginal experiences, verbal persuasion, physiological and emotional states

Viewing competence as incremental, not fixed: if we view competence as a set of skills to be performed in specific situations rather than as a trait, and as acquirable through effort and experience rather than as fixed, we are more likely to _________ in the face of obstacles to success.

Persist

Describe the second of two ways beliefs about self-efficacy influence health

Second, self-efficacy beliefs influence a number of biological processes which, in turn, influence health and disease. Self-efficacy beliefs affect the body's physiological responses to stress, including the immune system. Lack of perceived control over environmental demands can increase susceptibility to infections and hasten the progression of disease.

Describe the 3rd of the three interacting components of self regulation: Self-efficacy beliefs pt 2

Second, self-efficacy beliefs influence our choices of goal-directed activities, expenditure of effort, persistence in the face of challenge and obstacles and reactions to perceived discrepancies between goals and current performance. If I have strong efficacy beliefs, I will be relatively resistant to the disruptions in self-regulation that can result from difficulties and setbacks, and I will persevere. Perseverance usually produces desired results, and this success then increases my sense of efficacy.

What is the second of two interacting factors that influence the early development of self efficacy?

Second, the development of efficacy beliefs is influenced by the responsiveness ofenvironments, especially social environments, to the infant's or child's attempts at manipulationand control.

What is the third premise of social cognitive theory?

Self and personality are socially embedded. These are perceptions (accurate ornot) of our own and others' patterns of social cognition, emotion, and action asthey occur in patterns of situations. Because they are socially embedded, personality and self are not simply what we bring to our interactions with others; they are created in these interactions, and they change through these interactions.

What are the two theories in the article?

Self efficacy theory and social cognitive theory.

Describe how self efficacy is not casual attributions.

Casual attributions are explanations for events, including my own behavior and its consequences. Self-efficacy beliefs are my beliefs about what I am capable of doing.

How do physiological and emotional states affect efficacy beliefs and our sense of agency as they continue to develop throughout our lifespan?

Physiological and emotional states influence self-efficacy when we learn to associate poor performance or perceived failure with aversive physiological arousal and success with pleasant feeling states. Thus, when I become aware of unpleasant physiological arousal, I am more likely to doubt my competence than if my physiological state were pleasant or neutral. Likewise, comfortable physiological sensations are likely to lead me to feel confident in my ability in the situation at hand. Physiological indicants of self-efficacy expectancy, however, extend beyond autonomic arousal. For example, in activities involving strength and stamina such as exercise and athletic performances, perceived efficacy is influenced by such experiences as fatigue and pain

In this sense, self-efficacy is concerned with human potential and possibilities, not limitations, thus making it a truly _______ psychology.

Positive

Although the term "self-efficacy" is of recent origin, interest in beliefs about personal control has a long history in which fields?

Psychology and philosophy

Research on self-efficacy has greatly enhanced our understanding of how and why people adopt ___________ and of how to change __________?

Research on self-efficacy has greatly enhanced our understanding of how and why people adopt healthy and unhealthy behaviors and of how to change behaviors that affect health.

Describe strategies for enhancing self efficacy which focus on Enhancing the impact of success

Success is subjective, and accomplishments that are judged "successful" by observers are not always judged so by the performer. Nor do such accomplishments automatically enhance efficacy beliefs. We often discount self-referential information that is inconsistent with our current self-views. Thus, when we feel distressed and believe we are incompetent and helpless, we are likely to ignore or discount information from therapists, family, friends, and our own behavioral successes that is inconsistent with our negative self-beliefs. Therefore, we need to make concerted efforts to increase success experiences, but we also must learn to interpret that success as success and as the result of our own efforts. We can interpret success experiences more effectively in three ways.

Describe strategies for enhancing self efficacy which focus on vicarious experience.

Vicarious and imaginal means can be used to teach new skills and enhance self-efficacy for those skills. Common everyday (non-professional) examples of the use of vicarious experiences to enhance self-efficacy include advertisements for weight-loss and smoking cessation programs that feature testimonials from successful people. Formal and informal "support groups" provide forums for the enhancement of self-efficacy.

What is the fourth premise of social cognitive theory?

We are capable of self-regulation. We choose goals and regulate our behavior in the pursuit of these goals. At the heart of self-regulation is our ability to anticipate or develop expectancies - to use past knowledge and experience to form beliefs about future events and states and beliefs about our abilities and behavior.

How do imaginal experiences affect efficacy beliefs and our sense of agency as they continue to develop throughout our lifespan?

We can influence self-efficacy beliefs by imagining ourselves or others behaving effectively or ineffectively in hypothetical situations. Such images may be derived from actual or vicarious experiences with situations similar to the one anticipated, or they may be induced by verbal persuasion, as when a psychotherapist guides a client through imaginal interventions such as systematic desensitization and covert modeling. Simply imagining myself doing something well, however, is not likely to have as strong an influence on my self-efficacy as will an actual experience.

What is the first premise of social cognitive theory?

We have powerful cognitive or symbolizing capabilities that allow for the creation of internal models of experience, the development of innovative courses of action, the hypothetical testing of such courses of action through the prediction of outcomes, and the communication of complex ideas and experiences to others. We also can engage in self-observation and can analyze and evaluate our own behavior, thoughts, and emotions. These self-reflective activities set the stage for self-regulation.

Describe strategies for enhancing self efficacy which focus on physiological and emotional states

We usually feel more self-efficacious when we are calm than when we are aroused and distressed. Thus, strategies for controlling and reducing emotional arousal (specifically anxiety) while attempting new behaviors should increase self- efficacy and increase the likelihood of successful implementation. Hypnosis, biofeedback, relaxation training, meditation, and medication are the most common strategies for reducing the physiological arousal typically associated with low self-efficacy and poor performance.

whenequipped with an unshakable belief in one's ideas, goals, and capacity for achievement, there are few limits to ______?

What one can accomplish

The author uses thee term psychotherapy to refer to ______?

professionally guided interventions designed to enhance psychological well-being, while acknowledging that self-regulation plays an important role in all such interventions.

Self-efficacy research concerned with enhancing our understanding of self-regulation will enhance our understanding of how to ________?

provide people with these enablement skills.

Self-efficacy theory also (beyond the aforementioned basic premise) maintains that these efficacy beliefs play a crucial role in ________?

psychological adjustment, psychological problems, physical health, as well as professionally guided and self-guided behavioral change strategies.

The perception that competence is incremental and can be increased by experience can be enhanced by comparing ________?

recent successful coping strategies with past ineffective behaviors.

The child's social environment (especially parents) is usually the most __________ part of his or her environment.

responsive

Environments that are responsive to the child's actions facilitate the development of efficacy beliefs, while non-responsive environments _______?

retard this development.

All of the major theories of health behavior, such as protection motivation theory, the health belief model, and the theory or reasoned action/planned behavior include _________ as a key component.

self-efficacy

Social cognitive theory and self-efficacy theory assume that we have the capacity for _______?

self-regulation and self-initiated change

The development of efficacy beliefs encourages exploration, which in turn enhances the infant's _____?

sense of agency.

Strong beliefs of self-efficacy can be self-confirming because such beliefs encourage us to _________?

set challenging goals, persist in the face of obstacles, attend to efficacy-enhancing information, and select efficacy-enhancing environments.

Self-efficacy theory suggests that formal interventions should not simply resolve specific problems, but should provide people with the skills and sense of efficacy for ________?

solving problems themselves