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A brief statement of the main aim of the article
In this article , Gist (1987) explains how self-efficacy, a term he defines as a person鈥檚 belief in hisher ability to execute a task impacts hisher energy, persistence and interest in performing the task. In other words, the primary aim of the author in writing this article is to explain the role played by self-beliefs in task performance or better said, the correlation between self-beliefs and success of outcomes of the task. To begin with, Gist (1987) reveals the concept of self-efficacy after which he establishes a foundation for his research by exploring several materials in which the authors have related self-efficacy with job performance. The first of these materials is that of Brief and Aldag (1981) who addressed the role played by self-belief in work performance using a model. Another author featured is Ellis and Taylor (1983) who found a positive correlation between self-efficacy and motivation in the job search. Other researchers have found a strong correlation between self-efficacy and sales performance while other researchers found a positive correlation between self-efficacy and researcher productivity.
After this , he takes the reader through an exploration of the theoretical and practical implications of self-efficacy. Here, he purposes to link the theoretical concepts between self-efficacy and other concepts. It is after this that he finally takes the reader through the practical implications of self-efficacy for organizational behavior and human resource management. In simple words, the article aims at expounding the relationship between self-efficacy and the better performance of workers in an organization in a multi-dimensional way.
A discussion of self-efficacy and theory
According to Gist (1987), positive self-efficacy is defined as an individual鈥檚 belief that he or she is capable of performing a certain task successfully. This belief arises and develops as one gradually acquires cognitive, linguistic, social , and physical skills as a result of hisher growth in experience. Gist says that self-efficacy is affected by the ways in which heshe evaluates information about their capabilities that he receives from his bosses, family members and peers (Gist & Mitchell, 2002). Apparently, in this section, one learns that self-efficacy occurs in three dimensions: magnitude, strength , and generality. Magnitude is in this context refers to the level and difficulty of a task that a person believes heshe can manage while strength is the level and generality is the degree to which a person feels capable of performing tasks of various magnitudes, natures and at different situations (French, 2011)
More so in this section, Gist (1987) discusses four major sources of self-efficacy which differ in their importance. These are enactive mastery, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion , and emotional (physiological) arousal. Enactive mastery is here defined as knowledge acquired by repeating a task and understanding how to accomplish it. It is considered the best in determining self-efficacy than all the other three. That is because if a person masters effectively how to perform a certain seemingly difficult task and eventually does it successfully, the result is the building up of a strong and robust efficacy belief inside him or her (Schunk, 1991). It is due to the fact that enactive mastery involves a personal or direct, experience of the person rather than teaching that it is considered the best way to gain self-efficacy. However, this method of attaining self-efficacy is charged with several obstacles and only those who will not be easily discouraged succeed (White, 2000).
Vicarious experience is , on the other hand, the knowledge gained through a secondary means other than the direct experience of an individual (Gist & Mitchell, 2002). For instance, the know-how acquired after reading a book and so on. Vicarious experience is also called social modeling, and besides involving reading books to achieve efficacy, it also involves watching others completing a task as a way of nurturing self-efficacy beliefs. Nonetheless , it is crucial that the observing person considers the 鈥渕odeling鈥?person as similar in abilities to him or herself (Bandura, 1993).
Verbal persuasion can be achieved by helping a person improve hisher performance by enhancing self-beliefs through cheering him or her up. Verbal persuasion as a source of self-efficacy is mostly important when a person faces difficulties. During difficulties, the verbal persuading of persons that they are indeed capable of making it through given tasks or stressful situations help increase their effort and at the same time help lessen their self-doubts (French, 2011). All the same, though cheering up is meant for good, it sometimes leads to disappointments. To avoid disappointing the person , it is necessary to ensure that appraisals are kept at their realistic frames. A famous example of verbal persuasion in action would be Obama鈥檚 slogan 鈥淵es we can鈥?which he used in his elections campaign to persuade people to put more effort.
Fourth, is emotional or physiological arousal where a person鈥檚 perceptions of him herself are used in persuading hisher performance capability (White, 2000). According to Bandura (1993), peoples鈥?physical reactions are capable of enhancing their beliefs. It is, therefore, likely that whenever a person feels nervous while faced by a certain circumstance , hisher body will respond by producing negative physical reactions. Apparently, many are people who usually consider their negative physical reactions as debility. However, emotions do not only affect a person鈥檚 reaction as a result of their strengths but also by how they are interpreted. A person with high efficacy beliefs might judge some physical reactions as some catalyst for good work (French, 2011).
It is, therefore, sufficient toIncrease the Curb. |
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