Self-efficacy can greatly impact how people feel, think, behave, and motivate themselves. People who have a heightened sense of self-efficacy:
- See challenging problems as tasks to be mastered, rather than threats to be avoided.
- Develop greater intrinsic interest and focus in their activities.
- Set challenging goals and demonstrate a stronger sense of commitment to them.
- Quickly recover their self-efficacy following setbacks and disappointments (Bandura, 1994).
- Avoid difficult tasks and view them as personal threats.
- Have a weak commitment to their goals and believe that difficult tasks and situations are beyond their capabilities.
- Dwell on personal failings and negative outcomes, rather than how to succeed.
- Quickly lose faith in their personal abilities and easily develop depression and stress (Bandura, 1994).
