Comparative Appraisals Of Efficacy Require Not Only

Accurate Processing Of Information About Outcomes Is No Simple Task Under The Variable Conditions Of Everyday Life . . . Usually, Many Factors Enter Into Determining What Effects, If Any, Given Actions Will Have, Actions, Therefore, Produce Outcomes Probabilistically Rather Than Certainly. Depending On The Particular Conjunction Of Factors, The Same Course Of Action May Produce Given Outcomes Regularly, Occasionally, Or Only Infrequently

Persons Who Have A Strong Sense Of Efficacy Deploy Their Attention And Effort To The Demands Of The Situation And Are Spurred By Obstacles To Greater Effort.

Expected Outcomes Contribute To Motivation Independently Of Self-efficacy Beliefs When Outcomes Are Not Completely Controlled By Quality Of Performance. This Occurs When Extraneous Factors Also Affect Outcomes, Or Outcomes Are Socially Tied To A Minimum Level Of Performance So That Some Variations In Quality Of Performance Above And Below The Standard Do Not Produce Differential Outcomes

Regression Analyses Show That Self-efficacy Contributes To Achievement Behavior Beyond The Effects Of Cognitive Skills

The Difficulty In Judging What Type Of Behavior Works Well Arises Not Only Because A Given Course Of Action Does Not Always Produce The Outcomes. Similar Outcomes Can Occur For Reasons Other Than The Person's Actions, Which Further Complicates Inferential Judgment. Effects That Arise Independently Of One's Actions Distort The Influence Of Similar Effects Produced By The Actions, But Only On Some Occasions. Given A Strong Cognitive Set To Perceive Regularities, Even Chance Joint Occurrences Of Events Can Be Easily Misjudged As Genuine Relationships Of Low Contingent Probability