title: Self-efficacy and social behavior.
abstract: Data regarding the relationship between self-efficacy and social behavior are limited, and questions remain about how to interpret the relationship of self-efficacy to phobic behavior in general. The current study includes data regarding the relationship between self-efficacy ratings and social behavior. The data also allow tests of an alternative hypothesis that self-efficacy ratings represent a general prediction regarding the likely outcome regarding a task. If this hypothesis is correct, the relationship of self-efficacy to behavior should be moderated by task familiarity. The study involved 124 socially anxious participants who gave at least partial data on a variety of measures, including three speaking tasks. In accordance with the alternative hypothesis, self-efficacy ratings best predicted behavior in reference to a familiar speaking task. Overall, self-efficacy showed only a moderate tendency to predict behavior.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. rodebaugh@wustl.edu
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Rodebaugh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012919:Social Behavior; D013060:Speech