Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionV. Learning Theories 16. Bandura: Social
Cognitive Theory(^496) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Mastery Experiences The most influential sources of self-efficacy are mastery ex-
periences,that is, past performances (Bandura, 1997). In general, successful per-
formance raises efficacy expectancies; failure tends to lower them. This general
statement has six corollaries.
First, successful performance raises self-efficacy in proportion to the difficulty
of the task. Highly skilled tennis players gain little self-efficacy by defeating clearly
inferior opponents, but they gain much by performing well against superior oppo-
nents. Second, tasks successfully accomplished by oneself are more efficacious than
those completed with the help of others. In sports, team accomplishments do not in-
crease personal efficacy as much as do individual achievements. Third, failure is
most likely to decrease efficacy when we know that we put forth our best effort.
To fail when only half-trying is not as inefficacious as to fall short in spite of our
best efforts. Fourth, failure under conditions of high emotional arousal or distress
are not as self-debilitating as failure under maximal conditions. Fifth, failure prior
to establishing a sense of mastery is more detrimental to feelings of personal efficacy
than later failure. A sixth and related corollary is that occasional failure has little
effect on efficacy, especially for people with a generally high expectancy of
success.
Social Modeling A second source of efficacy is social modeling: that is, vicarious
experiencesprovided by other people. Our self-efficacy is raised when we observe
the accomplishments of another person of equal competence, but is lowered when
we see a peer fail. When the other person is dissimilar to us, social modeling will
have little effect on our self-efficacy. An old, sedentary coward watching a young, ac-
tive, brave circus performer successfully walk a high wire will undoubtedly have lit-
tle enhancement of efficacy expectations for duplicating the feat.
In general, the effects of social modeling are not as strong as those of personal
performance in raising levels of efficacy, but they can have powerful effects where
inefficacy is concerned. Watching a swimmer of equal ability fail to negotiate a
choppy river will likely dissuade the observer from attempting the same task. The ef-
fects of this vicarious experience may even last a lifetime.
Social Persuasion Self-efficacy can also be acquired or weakened through social
persuasion (Bandura, 1997). The effects of this source are limited, but under proper
conditions, persuasion from others can raise or lower self-efficacy. The first condi-
tion is that a person must believe the persuader. Exhortations or criticisms from a
credible source have more efficacious power than do those from a noncredible per-
son. Boosting self-efficacy through social persuasion will be effective only if the ac-
tivity one is being encouraged to try is within one’s repertoire of behavior. No
amount of verbal persuasion can alter a person’s efficacy judgment on the ability to
run 100 meters in less than 8 seconds.
Bandura (1986) hypothesizes that the efficacious power of suggestion is di-
rectly related to the perceived status and authority of the persuader. Status and au-
thority, of course, are not identical. For example, a psychotherapist’s suggestion to
phobic patients that they can ride in a crowded elevator is more likely to increase
self-efficacy than will encouragement from one’s spouse or children. But if that
same psychotherapist tells patients that they have the ability to change a faulty light
490 Part V Learning Theories