title: Self-efficacy: a predictor but not a cause of behavior.
abstract: The concept of self-efficacy, as expounded by Bandura as part of his Social Cognitive Theory, has made considerable impact in the psychological literature. It is argued that self-efficacy is a useful hypothetical construct for predicting behavior, but it has no valid claim to being a cause of behavior. Claims for self-efficacy as a causal agent have failed to acknowledge that self-efficacy itself is an epi-phenomenon of performance. Conventional learning theory explanations of observed performance levels are shown to be more parsimonious than accounts relying on the concept of self-efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of South Australia, Magill.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hawkins
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy; D006801:Humans; D010553:Personality Development; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior