Self-Efficacy is best defined as…

Self-Efficacy is best defined as…

• A. A measure of motivation
• B. A general belief about success
• C. Albert Bandura's term for a person's belief in their capacity to perform a specific behavior or task
• D. A cognitive bias about risk

Answer: (C)

Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in their capacity to perform a specific behavior or task. It’s about what a person thinks they can actually do in a given situation, not merely how motivated they feel or how likely they believe success is in general. Because it is task-specific, someone can feel highly capable in one area (like starting a short daily walk) and less so in another (like sticking to a long-term nutrition plan). This belief shapes how hard someone will work, how long they will persist when obstacles appear, and how they interpret setbacks. In practice, Bandura emphasizes that self-efficacy influences effort, persistence, and resilience. It can be strengthened through mastery experiences (gradually handling tasks with increasing challenge), observing others succeed, verbal encouragement, and managing emotional or physical cues that signal difficulty. The other descriptions don’t capture this specific, action-oriented belief about capability. It’s more than motivation, which drives desire to act; it’s not a broad general belief about overall success; and it isn’t a cognitive bias about risk.

Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in their capacity to perform a specific behavior or task. It’s about what a person thinks they can actually do in a given situation, not merely how motivated they feel or how likely they believe success is in general. Because it is task-specific, someone can feel highly capable in one area (like starting a short daily walk) and less so in another (like sticking to a long-term nutrition plan).

This belief shapes how hard someone will work, how long they will persist when obstacles appear, and how they interpret setbacks. In practice, Bandura emphasizes that self-efficacy influences effort, persistence, and resilience. It can be strengthened through mastery experiences (gradually handling tasks with increasing challenge), observing others succeed, verbal encouragement, and managing emotional or physical cues that signal difficulty.

The other descriptions don’t capture this specific, action-oriented belief about capability. It’s more than motivation, which drives desire to act; it’s not a broad general belief about overall success; and it isn’t a cognitive bias about risk.