Albert Bandura: A Study on Self-Efficacy

1. Albert Bandura: A Study on Self-Efficacy Gaby Martin

2. Biography • Born on December 4, 1925 in Alberta, Canada • Graduated from University of British Columbia with B.A. in psychology in 1949 • Received M.A. in 1951 and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at University of Iowa in 1952 • Postdoctoral internship at Wichita Guidance Center in Kansas

3. Biography • Joined faculty at Stanford University in 1953 • Met Robert Sears, a pioneer in social learning theory • Bandura became interested in social learning theory himself • Elected president of the American Psychological Association 1974 • Continues to teach at Stanford today

4. Social Learning Theory • We learn to interact with one another to obtain rewards • Similar to Skinner • We learn in social situations • Through imitation • By observing models • Bandura’s studies: • Powerful effects models have on behavior • Bobo doll studies • How our efforts affect our beliefs in our capacities (self-efficacy)

5. Socialization Studies • Socialization is the process by which societies influence the behavior of their members • Bandura’s studies: • Aggression (Bobo doll) • Gender roles • Prosocial behavior • Self-regulation: when a person begins to depend less on externalities in society to regulate his/her own behavior

6. Self-Efficacy • Self-efficacy is “the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action to manage prospective situations” • Involves self-observation which is when a person observes his/her own performance and compares it to his/her own standards • Self-efficacy appraisal: a conclusion made after a performance on one’s general ability • “I’m not good at math”

7. Self-Efficacy • Self-efficacy comes from • Actual performance: failure or success • Vicarious experience: failure or success of others • Verbal persuasion: pep talks • Physiololgical cues: bodily cues • Statement of Problem • How do actual performance, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and physiological cues affect a child’s self-efficacy? • Do these sources of self-efficacy really make a great impact on a child’s performance?

8. My Study • Setting • St. Clement’s Episcopal School in El Paso, TX • Procedure • 20 8th grade students divided into four groups: • Actual performance • Vicarious experience • Verbal persuasion • Physiological cues • Each group took a quick math test along with a questionnaire to fill out before and after the test • Each student was asked whether or not they think they are good at math and to predict how well they will do on the test • Each test was graded and each questionnaire was evaluated to establish a sense of each student’s self-efficacy

9. My Study • Hypotheses • The students’ self-efficacy will be affected by vicarious experience and especially by actual performance. Bandura explains that the process of self-regulation takes in actual performance through self-observation in order to make an assessment about one’s own performance. One will then perform accordingly with his/her evaluation. • Students’ sense of self-efficacy will have a major impact on performance (test scores). • The students’ performance (test scores) will be also be impacted by vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and physiological cues.

10. Questionnaire • How was each student’s self-efficacy evaluated? • Rubric • Answers to questions: • Self-efficacy evaluation:

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18. Conclusion • Two of my hypotheses were proven incorrect • This was because the research was very limited • Very small sample of students • Much data was inconclusive • Bandura is not wrong

19. Did You Know? • Did you know that a bandura is a musical instrument? It is often described as the voice of Ukraine. From a musical perspective, the bandura unifies acoustic principles of both the lute and the harp. This produces a sound that is both emphatic and gentle, resembling that of a harpsichord, but with a wider range of dynamics and tonal control.