Self-efficacy: The engine which drives motivation

Participating in challenging activities and pursuing goals related to these activities is for many people a fulfilling part of life. Having said that, trying out activities and engaging in them in the pursuit of goals requires motivation. This is the energy, interest and excitement which leads a person to initiate and persist at these activities.

A key factor which facilitates motivation is self-efficacy. In the following sections, I will discuss this concept and how you can use it to spur motivation in yourself and in others.

Self-efficacy and its effects on motivation and performance

Self-efficacy is the belief that you can perform well in an activity. The concept applies to activities in various domains such as work and school, sports, music, finances, dating and relationships, and social interaction, to name just a few examples.

Self-efficacy has been found to facilitate people’s motivation to attempt and persist at activities. It is also predictive of success at an activity. As such, it manifests as a self-fulfilling prophecy in that believing you can perform well at an activity increases the probability that you will perform well.

The importance of self-efficacy for yourself and others

Focusing on self-efficacy is important for motivating yourself and others to engage in activities. For example, you are more likely to attempt and persist at activities for which you have self-efficacy. This has implications for your success at a multitude of vocational, social, relational and recreational activities.

In addition, people for whom you are responsible are also more likely to attempt and persist at activities for which they have self-efficacy. This has implications for their success at a multitude of vocational, social, relational and recreational activities. Included in this dynamic are parents and their children, teachers and their students, coaches and their athletes, doctors and their patients, and even psychologists and their clients, to name just a few examples.

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Strategies to facilitate self-efficacy

Four key strategies which facilitate self-efficacy in yourself and others were identified by the late psychologist Dr. Albert Bandura. They include:

Use mastery experiences

Mastery experiences are those in which you succeed at the activity. Having succeeded at the activity increases your motivation to continue with the activity.

Mastery activities are facilitated by choosing tasks which are within the ability of you or the person with whom you are working. For example, to increase motivation to practice piano or do math homework, it is wise to start with piano pieces which you can play or math problems which you can solve. The more you pursue the activity, the more mastery experiences you are likely to accumulate. In turn, this helps you to stay motivated as you encounter challenges within the activity going forward.

Use vicarious success/modeling

Belief that you can succeed at an activity is not only facilitated by your previous successes. It is also engendered by seeing others succeed at the activity. Those who we watch succeed are referred to as models and our ability to benefit from watching them is known as vicarious learning.

Self-efficacy is most likely to be enhanced when the models who we observe succeeding at the activity are like us. That is, if I observe someone like me succeed at the activity, then I am more likely to believe that I also can succeed at it. For example, many more girls in Canada started playing hockey when they watched the Canadian women’s team succeed at the Olympics and after a women’s professional hockey league was established.

Use social persuasion

Having someone who you respect convey belief that you can succeed at an activity can be a powerful stimulator of your self-efficacy. This factor is a major reason that I worked with a coach when I did triathlons and a major reason that I study piano under the guidance of a teacher.

Having these mentors have helped me with motivation and success by providing me with advice and guiding me to practice in the most effective way possible. However, they have also helped me to stay motivated in pursuing these activities by facilitating self-efficacy. They have done so by regularly communicating their belief that I can succeed.

Seeking out such mentors for yourself can similarly help you stay motivated in your activities by facilitating self-efficacy. If you are a parent, conveying belief in your child can nurture self-efficacy so that they have the motivation to try out and stay with activities. If they are in activity with a coach, teacher or mentor, try to connect them with one who makes it a point to facilitate self-efficacy. If you are in the position of coach, teacher, or mentor, conveying that you believe in the person with whom you are working will enhance their motivation by facilitating self-efficacy.

Facilitate positive emotions

Self-efficacy is facilitated when you experience positive emotions while participating in an activity. In turn, you can facilitate positive emotions in yourself, your child, your student or your athlete through various means. In addition to evoking these emotions through the self-efficacy strategies of using mastery experiences, vicarious successes and social persuasion, exploring ways to make the activity interesting can make the activity enjoyable which further facilitates self-efficacy.

Self-efficacy is also facilitated by managing challenging emotions which are often experienced leading up to and during the activity. Anxiety, frustration, anger and disappointment are among the emotions which can detract from enjoyment of the activity and consequently detract from self-efficacy and motivation. Working with a psychologist can help you learn skills to manage these emotions so that you can enjoy the activity more with a subsequent boost to self-efficacy and motivation.

You can read more about how self-efficacy affects motivation in Motivation Myth Busters by Drs. Wendy Grolnick, Bejamin Heddy and Frank Worrell.

May you facilitate self-efficacy to enhance motivation in yourself and those around you.

-Dr. Pat

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