# Self-efficacy
**Self-efficacy** is a person's belief in their own capability to execute the behaviors required to produce a specific outcome. The construct was introduced by the psychologist [Albert Bandura](https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-bandura) in 1977, in an article in *Psychological Review* titled "Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change"[1](https://academic.oup.com/reference/62403/reference-article-abstract/571608852). In his original formulation Bandura described it as "the conviction that one can successfully execute the behavior required to produce [expected] outcomes"[2](https://collections.lib.utah.edu/dl_files/8f/d8/8fd890d18debd60f7f53af236c5478cf3f558402.pdf). The construct has since become a central variable in research on health behavior, education, motivation, and organizational psychology[3](https://www.uab.edu/medicine/home/images/faculty/faculty-resources/self-efficacy.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Term introduced by Albert Bandura in 1977 in *Psychological Review*[1](https://academic.oup.com/reference/62403/reference-article-abstract/571608852) |
| Definition | "The conviction that one can successfully execute the behavior required to produce [expected] outcomes" (Bandura, 1977)[2](https://collections.lib.utah.edu/dl_files/8f/d8/8fd890d18debd60f7f53af236c5478cf3f558402.pdf) |
| Four sources | Mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological and emotional states[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0297517) |
| Strongest source | Enactive mastery experiences, because they provide the most direct, authentic evidence of capability[5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3540350/) |
| Domain specificity | Efficacy beliefs are task- and domain-specific, varying across activity domains[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0297517) |
| Digital health interventions | Meta-analysis of 20 studies (n = 5,624) found a small positive effect on self-efficacy, g = 0.190, 95% CI [0.078, 0.303][6](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31847702/) |
| Assessment | Typically measured by asking respondents to rate their confidence that they can perform the target behavior[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4326627/) |
## Place in social cognitive theory
Self-efficacy is a component of Bandura's social cognitive theory, which posits **triadic reciprocality**: internal personal factors, behavioral patterns, and environmental events influence one another bidirectionally[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0297517). Within this framework, self-efficacy beliefs operate on behavior by shaping the choices people make, the effort they apply, and their persistence in the face of difficulty. When individuals judge that a challenge outstrips their capacity to cope, they usually shy away from it, while a firmer sense of efficacy leads people to approach such situations with greater confidence.[8](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1678437/pdf)
Bandura's conceptualization made a distinction that the theory treats as important: self-efficacy, the perceived capability to perform a behavior, is conceptually distinct from outcome expectancy, the belief that the behavior will lead to desired outcomes[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4326627/). A person may be confident they can follow an exercise program yet doubt that exercise will improve their health; the two judgments are measured and theorized separately[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4326627/).
## The four sources of efficacy information
According to social cognitive theory, people acquire and revise efficacy beliefs by interpreting information from four sources[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0297517):
1. **Mastery experience** (also called enactive mastery or performance accomplishment): interpreted results of one's own previous accomplishments. Success in overcoming difficult tasks boosts self-efficacy, while repeated failures erode it[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0297517).
2. **Vicarious experience**: observing others perform similar tasks. Watching someone else succeed or struggle at a comparable task shapes one's judgment of one's own chances; classroom climate conditions this effect, with students' self-efficacy decreasing under vicarious learning in competitive classrooms[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0297517).
3. **Verbal persuasion** (social persuasion): encouragement and positive feedback strengthen efficacy beliefs, while discouragement weakens them. Persuasion works mainly in combination with other strategies, and its effect depends on the credibility of the source[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0297517).
4. **Physiological and emotional states**: how people interpret their own bodily and emotional reactions. A speaker who feels dread before a performance may read that arousal as evidence of inadequate ability; reducing negative emotional states can strengthen efficacy[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0297517).
Bandura identified mastery experience as the most influential of the four, because actual performance supplies the most direct, authentic evidence that a person can gather the resources needed to succeed[5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3540350/).
## Domain specificity
Self-efficacy is not a single general trait. It is domain-specific and multidimensional, meaning levels vary across areas of activity and even across tasks within one domain; a language learner may report high self-efficacy for writing and low self-efficacy for speaking[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0297517). This is why measurement and intervention target particular tasks: general self-efficacy items can give biased results when the outcome of interest is a specific skill[4](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0297517).
## Measurement
Assessment of self-efficacy typically asks respondents to rate their confidence that they can perform the target behavior, either in isolation (task self-efficacy) or under specified conditions such as coping or self-regulation demands[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4326627/). A large literature of validated scales exists for specific domains. In evidence-based practice in nursing, a systematic review identified eleven scales measuring self-efficacy or a similar construct and one measuring outcome expectancy; the Self-Efficacy in Evidence-Based Practice Activities scale showed the best content validity and, with its companion outcome-expectations scale, met COSMIN standards for construct validity with high-quality evidence[9](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11080366/).
## Applications
**Health behavior.** A systematic review and meta-analysis of automated digital health behavior change interventions for non-clinical populations identified 20 studies with 5,624 participants, covering healthy eating, physical activity, sexual behavior, and smoking; no interventions targeting alcohol use were identified. Overall, the interventions had a small, positive effect on self-efficacy, g = 0.190, 95% CI [0.078, 0.303], and the effect did not differ significantly by health behavior type (Q-between = 7.3704, p = .061). Including the behavior change technique "information about social and environmental consequences" was associated with a small negative effect on self-efficacy (Δg = −0.297, Q = 7.072, p = .008); the review concluded that digital interventions can change self-efficacy but that which techniques work best is not clear[6](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31847702/).
**Education.** Academic self-efficacy is treated as a key determinant of achievement, motivation, and learning within Bandura's framework[5](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3540350/). In teacher education, teacher self-efficacy is associated with commitment, instructional behavior, and student engagement and achievement, and specific intervention programs target it in pre-service and in-service training[10](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.edurev.2023.100552).
## Structural findings from meta-analysis
The four-source model has been tested empirically. A meta-analysis of the sources of self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains synthesized 104 studies with 141 independent samples collected over 1977–2013. An omnibus test supported a two-source factor model rather than four independent sources: one factor of direct personal experiences, comprising prior mastery experience, verbal persuasion, and affective state, and a separate factor of vicarious learning. Both sources predicted self-efficacy and outcome expectations; the direct experiences factor produced large positive paths to self-efficacy, while vicarious learning yielded small yet negative paths, which the authors attributed to statistical suppression. Mastery experience explained more variance in self-efficacy when assessed subjectively than objectively, and the model's prediction differed by gender and racial/ethnic group[11](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001879118301131).
This pattern of findings reflects the correlations among the sources: because mastery experience, social persuasion, and physiological state are all based on prior experience, they tend to display moderate to large correlations with one another[12](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361476X16300364).
## References
1. [Self-Efficacy, Oxford Bibliographies in Psychology](https://academic.oup.com/reference/62403/reference-article-abstract/571608852)
2. [The Concept of Self-efficacy, University of Utah](https://collections.lib.utah.edu/dl_files/8f/d8/8fd890d18debd60f7f53af236c5478cf3f558402.pdf)
3. [What Is Self-Efficacy?, University of Alabama at Birmingham](https://www.uab.edu/medicine/home/images/faculty/faculty-resources/self-efficacy.pdf)
4. [Wang Y, Sun PP (2024). Development and validation of scales for speaking self-efficacy. PLoS ONE 19(1): e0297517](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0297517)
5. [Academic self-efficacy: from educational theory to instructional practice, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3540350/)
6. [Newby K et al. (2021). Do automated digital health behaviour change interventions have a positive effect on self-efficacy? Health Psychology Review 15(1):140-158](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31847702/)
7. [The Confounded Self-Efficacy Construct: Review, Conceptual Analysis, and Recommendations for Future Research, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4326627/)
8. [Progress or plateau? A 20-year systematic review of self-efficacy among TCFL teachers, Frontiers in Psychology](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1678437/pdf)
9. [Hoegen PA et al. (2021). Measuring self-efficacy and outcome expectancy in evidence-based practice: A systematic review on psychometric properties](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11080366/)
10. [What kind of individual support activities in interventions foster pre-service and beginning teachers' self-efficacy? A meta-analysis, Educational Research Review](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.edurev.2023.100552)
11. [Sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations in STEM domains: A meta-analysis, Journal of Vocational Behavior](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001879118301131)
12. [Social models in the cognitive appraisal of self-efficacy information](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361476X16300364)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Social life and human behavior › Psychology and behavior › Motivation, emotion, stress, and coping › Motivation and goals*
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