Theories of Self-Efficacy: The Case of Registering to Become an Organ Donor

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We sometimes find ourselves in situations that require action on our part in the face of adversity. In such situations, we may feel confident that we can do what is needed to overcome the adversity or we may believe we are unable to make it happen and must accept the negative outcomes of inaction. For example, a lifelong smoker may feel that she simply does not have the willpower to kick the habit and is forced to deal with the potential negative health consequences of smoking or deny their existence altogether. Perceiving ourselves as capable of certain actions is a crucial determinant to whether or not we attempt to handle such situations. The belief in our own capability is our perceived self-efficacy, a term formally defined as a belief in our ability to organize and execute a particular course of action to successfully manage prospective situations (Bandura, 1977). One key element of self-efficacy is that our perception of self-efficacy is unique to a given situation (Bandura, 1980; Maibach & Murphy, 1995). For example, we may perceive ourselves able or competent when asked to conduct statistics on a given research project but less competent if asked to write the results from these analyses. Thus, self-efficacy is higher with conducting statistics than it is with my writing skills. When asked about our self-efficacy regarding multiple behaviors, we could claim to be efficacious at certain behaviors, but entirely incapable at other behaviors (Bandura, 1997). One implication of this is a hesitancy to enter situations where one’s own self-efficacy is lower than expectations.