Efficacy-Performance Spirals: An Empirical Test

This study examined the pattern of the relationships between self-efficacy and performance in an experiment involving 148 students who worked on a manufacturing task over four trials. Task feedback and task experience, two variables that may influence the occurrence of efficacy-performance spirals, were also investigated. Results indicated strong support for a significant relationship between self-efficacy and performance over time. However, the pattern of changes in self-efficacy and performance from trial-to-trial contained self-corrections, suggesting that the efficacy-performance relationship does not necessarily proceed in a monotonic, deviation-amplifying spiral. Task feedback and task experience affected the occurrence of self-corrections in the pattern of changes in self-efficacy and performance over time. Implications are drawn about the dynamic nature of self-efficacy.

[1]  Daniel J. Brass,et al.  Efficacy-Performing Spirals: A Multilevel Perspective , 1995 .

[2]  Marilyn E. Gist,et al.  Responses to Successful and Unsuccessful Performance: The Moderating Effect of Self-Efficacy on the Relationship between Performance and Attributions , 1995 .

[3]  A. Saks Longitudinal field investigation of the moderating and mediating effects of self-efficacy on the relationship between training and newcomer adjustment. , 1995, The Journal of applied psychology.

[4]  Marilyn E. Gist,et al.  Self-Efficacy: A Theoretical Analysis of Its Determinants and Malleability , 1992 .

[5]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  The motivation sequence, the motivation hub, and the motivation core. , 1991 .

[6]  A. Bandura,et al.  Self-regulatory mechanisms governing the impact of social comparison on complex decision making. , 1991 .

[7]  Marilyn E. Gist,et al.  EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVE TRAINING METHODS ON SELF-EFFICACY AND PERFORMANCE IN COMPUTER SOFTWARE TRAINING , 1989 .

[8]  Marilyn E. Gist,et al.  THE INFLUENCE OF TRAINING METHOD ON SELF‐EFFICACY AND IDEA GENERATION AMONG MANAGERS , 1989 .

[9]  A. Bandura,et al.  Social Cognitive Theory of Organizational Management , 1989 .

[10]  Colette A. Frayne,et al.  Self-management training for increasing job attendance: A follow-up and a replication. , 1988 .

[11]  Gary P. Latham,et al.  Application of social learning theory to employee self-management of attendance , 1987 .

[12]  Marilyn E. Gist,et al.  Self-Efficacy: Implications for Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management , 1987 .

[13]  A. Bandura,et al.  Differential engagement of self-reactive influences in cognitive motivation , 1986, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

[14]  P. Earley An examination of the mechanisms underlying the relation of feedback to performance , 1986 .

[15]  A. Bandura Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory , 1985 .

[16]  Michael Masuch,et al.  Vicious circles in organizations. , 1985 .

[17]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  Effect of self-efficacy, goals, and task strategies on task performance. , 1984 .

[18]  H. Wold Systems Analysis by Partial Least Squares , 1983 .

[19]  D. Feltz Path analysis of the causal elements in Bandura's theory of self-efficacy and an anxiety-based model of avoidance behavior , 1982 .

[20]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[21]  Edward G. Carmines,et al.  Reliability and Validity Assessment , 1979 .

[22]  Louis E. Yelle THE LEARNING CURVE: HISTORICAL REVIEW AND COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY , 1979 .

[23]  A. Bandura Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. , 1977, Psychological review.

[24]  Daniel J. Brass,et al.  Efficacy-performance spirals: A multilevel perspective. , 1995 .

[25]  Chris Argyris,et al.  Overcoming organizational defenses : facilitating organizational learning , 1990 .

[26]  Barry M. Staw,et al.  Behavior in escalation situations: Antecedents, prototypes, and solutions. , 1987 .

[27]  P. Nijkamp,et al.  Measuring the unmeasurable , 1985 .

[28]  Claes Fornell,et al.  A second generation of multivariate analysis , 1982 .

[29]  Dennis Child,et al.  The essentials of factor analysis , 1970 .

[30]  K. Weick The social psychology of organizing , 1969 .