Self-Efficacy: why do some people believe they will manage?

Two colleagues get the same new assignment. Neither of them has done anything quite like it before.

The first thinks: "I'll work it out." The second thinks: "This is probably beyond me." They have the same training and the same deadline, yet one starts right away and the other keeps putting it off.

Why do some people go into a challenge expecting to manage it, while others expect to fail before they have even begun?

Psychologists call this expectation self-efficacy. In the Big Five model, it is one of six facets of conscientiousness. The facet describes how capable you feel of getting things done.

What does self-efficacy mean?

Self-efficacy is your belief that you can carry out what a task requires. It is not about how skilled you actually are, but about how skilled you think you are when it counts.

People who score high often recognise themselves in this:

• You usually feel that you know how to get things done.
• You trust that you can find a way, even when a task is new.
• You handle practical problems without much fuss.
• Setbacks feel like problems to solve rather than proof that you are not good enough.
• Others often come to you when something needs sorting out.

Self-efficacy is not the same as arrogance or a big ego. You can be modest, quiet and self-critical and still have a calm confidence that you will manage the job.

The key is not whether you think you are better than others, but whether you think you can handle what lies in front of you.

Bandura: belief decides whether we even try

The term comes from the psychologist Albert Bandura. In a classic article from 1977, he argued that our expectations of our own ability shape three things: whether we start at all, how much effort we put in, and how long we keep going when we meet obstacles.

Bandura also described where these expectations come from. He named four sources:

• Your own successes. Having managed something similar before.
• Watching others. Seeing someone like you manage it.
• Encouragement. Being told by others that you can do it.
• Bodily signals. How you read your own tension, heart rate and nerves.

According to Bandura, the first source is the strongest. Experiences you have had yourself carry more weight than anything others tell you.

Does believing in yourself make you perform better?

It is tempting to think so. A large meta-analysis from 1998 pooled 114 studies with more than 21,000 participants and found a clear link between self-efficacy and work performance (a correlation of .38). The strength of the link varied with how complex the task was and whether the study was done in a lab or in a real workplace.

But a correlation does not tell you which way the arrow points. Do people perform well because they believe in themselves, or do they believe in themselves because they have performed well?

A meta-analysis from 2013 looked at this by following the same people over time. The answer was surprising. Past performance clearly predicted later self-efficacy. The effect the other way, from self-efficacy to later performance, was weak, and it nearly disappeared once the researchers took into account that people generally improve with practice.

The authors concluded that self-efficacy is mainly a product of past performance, rather than the main force behind future performance. That fits well with Bandura's own idea that mastery experiences are the most important source.

Can you be too sure of yourself?

A pair of experiments from 2002 suggested that confidence can also have a downside. Students played an analytical logic game. In the first study, the researchers manipulated the self-efficacy of about half the participants, and the manipulation was linked to poorer performance on the next round.

In the second study, the students reported their self-efficacy between games. Higher self-efficacy led to overconfidence, which made logical errors more likely. In other words, feeling that you already have it under control can make you a little less careful.

These were small lab studies with a specific task, and Bandura himself disputed how they should be interpreted, so they should not be stretched too far. But they are a useful reminder that a moderate amount of doubt can make you check your work one more time.

Self-efficacy is not the same as self-esteem

This is an easy mix-up.

Self-esteem is about how you value yourself as a person. Self-efficacy is about whether you think you can do things. You can like yourself well and still doubt you will pass the driving test, or feel very capable at work while having a fragile sense of self-worth.

That said, the two are related. A study from 2002 found that self-esteem, general self-efficacy, a sense of control over your own life and emotional stability were so strongly connected that they could be seen as signs of one shared underlying quality. That is why low self-efficacy often goes together with higher scores on neuroticism.

Self-efficacy also differs from achievement-striving. Achievement-striving is about how much you want to accomplish. Self-efficacy is about whether you think you can. Someone can be very ambitious and still be plagued by doubt.

What does a high or low score mean?

High self-efficacy

You generally feel competent and in control of your tasks. That makes it easier to get started, to take on new responsibility and to keep going when something goes wrong.

The risk, as the research above suggests, is that you sometimes underestimate how hard a task is. Planning a little extra time and asking for feedback can protect you from overconfidence.

Low self-efficacy

You are more likely to doubt that you will manage, especially with new or unfamiliar tasks. This can make you hesitate, hand over tasks to others, or prepare much more than you need to.

A low score does not mean you are less capable. Many people who score low do well when they actually get going. Doubt can also make you thorough and open to advice.

Both descriptions are about typical tendencies, not rules that hold in every situation.

In everyday life

• At work: High self-efficacy makes it easier to volunteer for new projects. Low self-efficacy can mean you hold back even when you are well qualified.
• In school and studies: Belief that you can master a subject makes it easier to keep going through difficult material. Good grades also build that belief over time.
• In health: Believing you can stick with exercise or a change in diet makes it more likely that you will try at all.
• In relationships: People with low self-efficacy may leave practical decisions to a partner, which can create an uneven division of labour.

Can self-efficacy change?

Yes, and this is one of the facets where the research gives the most concrete guidance. If self-efficacy grows mainly out of experiences of mastery, then the route to more self-efficacy is to create such experiences.

• Break big tasks into smaller steps where you can actually see that you succeed.
• Keep track of what you have managed, not only of what remains.
• Find role models who are like you. Seeing someone with a similar background manage something can lower the threshold.
• Read your nerves differently. A racing heart before a presentation does not mean you will fail; it means the situation matters to you.

You can read more about practical strategies in our article on understanding and boosting self-efficacy.

If a lasting feeling of not managing anything comes together with low mood, hopelessness or exhaustion, it can be worth talking to your doctor or a psychologist. A Big Five score is not a diagnosis.

Frequently asked questions

Is self-efficacy the same as confidence?

Close, but not quite. Confidence is often used about social confidence and how you come across. Self-efficacy is specifically about believing you can do what a task requires.

Can I have high self-efficacy in one area and low in another?

Yes. Bandura saw self-efficacy as something that can vary between areas. You can feel very capable at work and unsure in the kitchen. The Big Five facet measures a more general tendency across situations.

Is it bad to have low self-efficacy?

Not necessarily. Research suggests that some doubt can make you more careful. It becomes a problem mainly if it stops you from trying things you would actually manage.

How is self-efficacy measured in the Big Five test?

Our test is based on the IPIP-NEO-120, where each facet is measured with four statements. For self-efficacy, they are about completing tasks successfully, excelling at what you do, handling tasks smoothly and knowing how to get things done. Read the score as a sign of a pattern, not as a complete description of you.

Find out where you score

Self-efficacy is only one of the six facets of conscientiousness. You can have high self-efficacy and still score low on orderliness or self-discipline.

Take the Big Five test and see your whole profile, with all 30 facets.

Sources

• Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215.
• Stajkovic, A. D. & Luthans, F. (1998). Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 240–261.
• Sitzmann, T. & Yeo, G. (2013). A meta-analytic investigation of the within-person self-efficacy domain: Is self-efficacy a product of past performance or a driver of future performance? Personnel Psychology, 66(3), 531–568.
• Vancouver, J. B., Thompson, C. M., Tischner, E. C. & Putka, D. J. (2002). Two studies examining the negative effect of self-efficacy on performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(3), 506–516.
• Judge, T. A., Erez, A., Bono, J. E. & Thoresen, C. J. (2002). Are measures of self-esteem, neuroticism, locus of control, and generalized self-efficacy indicators of a common core construct? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(3), 693–710.
• Johnson, J. A. (2014). Measuring thirty facets of the Five Factor Model with a 120-item public domain inventory: Development of the IPIP-NEO-120. Journal of Research in Personality, 51, 78–89.