ness of their strategic adjustments and the nature of their self-efficacy beliefs
(Zimmerman, 1989).
Affective states, such as elation, arousal, anxiety, or depression, play an im-
portant role in human functioning and often need to be self-regulated through
specific strategies, such as thought-stopping, self-instruction, and relaxation
(Bandura, 1986). There is evidence of a bidirectional relation between personal
affective states, such as depression, and self-regulatory beliefs, such as self-
efficacy. For example, depression has been traced to low self-efficacy beliefs
(Holahan & Holahan, 1987), such as the depression that high school star ath-
lete feels when he or she lacks a sense of self-efficacy about remaining aca-
demically eligible to participate in his or her sport. Conversely, students expe-
riencing emotional symptoms of anxiety, such as muscle tension, shallow
breathing, and a racing pulse, interpret these signs as ominous and feel less self-
efficacious about performing optimally (Bandura, 1997). Interestingly, when
self-efficacy has been included in path analyses along with a measure of anxi-
ety, self-efficacy has emerged as the primary mediator of students’ functioning
(Siegel, Galassi, & Ware, 1985). Thus, the influence of personal affective states
on academic performance was mediated through their self-efficacy beliefs.
From a triadic perspective, personal emotional reactions are linked to behav-
ioral performance in specific environmental settings via motivational beliefs,
such as self-efficacy, task interest, or valuing.
A wide variety of self-regulatory processes have been identified and stud-
ied inside and outside the field of academic functioning, and there is extensive
- SELF-REGULATION 327
FIG. 12.2. Triadic forms of self-regulation. From “A social cognitive view of
self-regulated academic learning” by B. J. Zimmerman, 1989,Journal of Educa-
tional Psychology, 81, p. 11. Copyright © 1989 by the American Psychological
Association. Adapted with permission.