Adult Eduacation Essay Research Paper 1 INTRODUCTIONIn — страница 9

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??self-efficacy??-what people say they can and cannot do-may be determined largely by outcome expectancies-the anticipation of both positive and aversive consequences (Baker & Kirsch, 1991) On the other hand, there is compelling evidence that avoidance behavior is determined by self-efficacy, not by anticipated anxiety, and that anticipated anxiety is determined by perceived self-efficacy (Bandura, 1992).E. OUTCOME VALUERecent research indicates that the notion of outcome value and its relationship to satisfaction with outcomes is not as simple as once was believed. Hsee and Abelson (1991) proposed that actual value or position relation-how positive or negative an outcome is rated on a satisfaction/dissatisfaction scale- is only one aspect of outcome value and probably not

the most important aspect. Hsee and Abelson (1991) also proposed that displacement relation and velocity relation are important determinants of satisfaction with outcomes. Displacement relation is ??the directional distance (i.e., displacement) between the original (reference) outcome position and the position after a change??. Satisfaction (dissatisfaction) depends on how much more (less) an outcome departs from its original position in a positive direction. Velocity relation is the ??rate (i.e., velocity) at which the outcome is changing??. Satisfaction is greater (less) when the velocity is more (less) positive.F. RELATED CONCEPTS OF MASTERY, CONTROL, AND COMPETENCE An understanding and appreciation of self-efficacy theory and the research bearing on it are enhanced by

understanding the relationships between self-efficacy and other concepts concerned with mastery and efficacy. Each of these can be viewed as social cognitive concepts because each deals with people??s thoughts, beliefs, motives, explanations, and predictions about themselves and other people. Locus of Control Locus of control of reinforcement (Rotter,1990) is ??the degree to which persons expect that a reinforcement or an outcome of their behavior is contingent on their own behavior or personal characterisitics versus the degree to which persons expect that the reinforcement of outcome is a function of chance, luck, or fate, is under the control of powerful others, or is simply unpredictable?? (Rotter, 1990,p. 489). Thus, locus of control is the general belief that one??s

behavior can have an impact on the environment and that one is capable of controlling outcomes through one??s own behavior. Although it sounds similar to self-efficacy expectancy, locus of control is a generalized outcome expectancy because it is concerned with the extent to which one believes one??s behavior controls outcomes, not confidence in one??s ability to perform certain behaviors (Bandura, 1986). Empirical evidence supports making this distinction between self-efficacy and locus of control (Smith, 1989; Taylor & Popma, 1990). Probability of Success McClelland (1985) has proposed a general behavior theory that considers motivation, incentive value, and probability of success to be the major determinants of achievement-related behavior and affiliative acts.

Probability of success ??is determined not only by actual skill but also by the individual??s beliefs about the efficacy of making a response that may be somewhat independent of the individual??s skill in making it: McClelland makes a distinction between beliefs about ??efficacy of effort in bringing about a consequence through a particular response in a given situation?? and ??generalized confidence a person has that he or she can bring about outcomes through instrumental activities of any kind??. A belief about ??efficacy of effort?? seems similar to outcome expectancy. Although, McClelland suggested that ??generalized confidence?? is nearly the same as a self-efficacy expectancy, His definition of generalized confidence is more similar to Rotter??s definition of locus of

control, which is a kind of generalized outcome expectancy, than to Bandura??s definition of self-efficacy expectancy, which is a belief about one??s ability to perform behaviors or execute behavioral strategies. Causal Attributions and Explanatory Style Theory and research on explanatory style or attributional style also are concerned with beliefs about personal control and effectiveness (e.g., Peterson & Stunkard, 1992). Most of this work has been directed toward understanding the effect of explanations for negative life events on perceived helplessness and depression (Brewin, 1985, Robins, 1988). Helplessness beliefs are closely related to self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancies. Explanations or attributions, however, are beliefs about the causes of events that