The Impact of Self-Efficacy Beliefs on Personal Development

questions
http://people.wku.edu/richard.miller/banduratheory.pdf
scroll to How Self Efficacy Beliefs Are Created 
Describe how each of the four sources has affected your life now and in the past.  The sources are:
Mastery Experience
Vicarious Experience
Social Influences
Somatic Influences

answer
1. Introduction
Self-efficacy beliefs affect the choices we make, the effort we put in, and our persistence at a task. It also determines how we feel and think about a task. If a person has high efficacy of a task, they will view it as a challenge to be mastered, whereas low efficacy will make a person see the task as something to be avoided. People with high efficacy will set themselves challenging goals and maintain strong commitment to them. They heighten and sustain their effort in the face of failure. This, in effect, brings about better performances, which in turn reinforces the beliefs in their capabilities, as does not completing the task. Self-efficacy can impact many areas in a person’s life, and this essay will be looking into how it affects a person academically and their career choices.
Self-efficacy beliefs can be seen as one of the major points of learning in social cognitive theory. They are an individual’s belief in their ability to perform and succeed at a specific task. This belief has been conceptualized as self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an individual judgment of their capability to complete a task. This judgment can be applied to a specific task, such as public speaking or global measures of efficacy. The theory was proposed by Albert Bandura in a 1977 publication and has had a large impact on cognition and social psychology, as well as clinical psychology. Bandura’s theory has been thought of as a reversal of the more common stimulus-response theory. He stresses the importance of observational learning, as he believes that when we see other people succeeding, it raises our beliefs that we too can master the task. Bandura also believes that a large part of learning is not trial and error, as the cost of errors is often too great. Instead, he believes that it is less costly to instill belief in a person that they have the capabilities to master the task.
1.1. Definition of Self-Efficacy Beliefs
This indicates that self-efficacy beliefs are a crucial determinant of behavioral change. A later study by Scholz et al. (2005) on adherence to exercise interventions found similar results. Both the studies done on exercising by Scholz et al. provide evidence that high self-efficacy can lead to behavior change. This is determined through the extent of the change such as trying to maintain or improve their level of exercise in the first study on cardiac patients and in the other study on men and women trying to increase their level of exercise. Behavior change is an essential aspect of personal development as improving and learning behaviors assist in achieving desired goals and outcomes. By connecting these studies to personal development, it can be said that people with confidence in their ability to perform exercise are more likely to implement the necessary behavioral changes to help them improve their health and prevent relapse. These studies, in addition, indicate that self-efficacy is a strong predictor of exercising behavior and it’s quite clear that behavior change can only occur if the individual has confidence in their abilities. So if we deduce a stronger meaning from this, a person with high self-efficacy belief in their ability to exercise will change their behavior to perform exercise with the confident belief that they can succeed and manage to keep that behavior with minimal chances of relapse. This compared to someone with little confidence will either not attempt any behavior change or not put in a wholehearted effort into it with a higher chance of relapse. So in terms of exercising, these individuals are at different levels but correspond to the same concept in that confidence or lack of it in their abilities will guide their level of effort and persistence.
1.2. Importance of Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Personal Development
Self-efficacy beliefs influence the choices people make and the courses of action they pursue. This, in turn, determines the goals they set and the extent to which they persevere in the face of difficulty. These, in turn, affect the level of accomplishment reached. The process of personal development is considered a cycle in which self-regulatory systems function. In other words, people set themselves challenges in order to alter their current functioning and reach a more desirable level. This is achieved through intention and planning. If the goal is achieved at a satisfactory level, then this will have a positive effect on the person’s perception of their efficacy in that area and raise their perceived self-efficacy. Alternatively, failure results in lowered perceived self-efficacy. Changing levels of self-efficacy is a mediating process between goal and outcome. In personality development, successful mastery of tasks in any given area of functioning is the best predictor of increased self-efficacy in that area. Mastery is achieved through the combination of behavioral change and cognitive processing, including vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and interpretation of physiological states. These are also the processes involved in self-efficacy change. Since accomplishment is usually tied to a sense of well-being and a reduction in stress, the enhancement of perceived self-efficacy produces corresponding improvement in psychological functioning. A strong sense of self-efficacy also helps people to prevent developing stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms during times of adversity. This plays an important preventative role in the stress of depression. The self-efficacy beliefs that affect coping with trauma and adversity are those revolving around the belief of being able to manage and prevent negative experiences from occurring. Persistent use of maladaptive coping and perceived inefficacy often results in altered self-efficacy and long-term negative effects on psychological health. High perceived self-efficacy has beneficial effects on every level of personality development and psychological functioning. High levels of it will promote an adventurous approach to life and a strong sense of commitment to goals, tasks, and activities. This, in turn, leads to a healthy and productive lifestyle. Changing undesirable or inefficient behavior is an attempt to better oneself, and self-efficacy is the belief that these changes can be accomplished. High perceived self-efficacy will, on more occasions, lead to successful mastery and behavior changes.
2. Mastery Experience
2.1. Gaining Confidence through Personal Achievements
2.2. Overcoming Challenges and Building Competence
2.3. Reflecting on Past Mastery Experiences
3. Vicarious Experience
3.1. Learning from Observing Others’ Success
3.2. Role Models and Their Influence
3.3. Identifying with Successful Individuals
4. Social Influences
4.1. Peer Support and Encouragement
4.2. Feedback and Validation from Others
4.3. Cultural and Societal Factors
5. Somatic Influences
5.1. Understanding the Role of Physical Sensations
5.2. Managing Anxiety and Stress
5.3. Utilizing Body Language and Nonverbal Communication
6. Personal Reflection
6.1. Analyzing the Impact of Mastery, Vicarious, Social, and Somatic Experiences
6.2. Identifying Patterns and Trends in Self-Efficacy Beliefs
6.3. Setting Personal Goals for Enhancing Self-Efficacy
7. Conclusion
7.1. Summary of the Importance of Self-Efficacy Beliefs
7.2. Strategies for Cultivating and Strengthening Self-Efficacy