Perceived Ability and Achievement-Related Behavior

Within the last two decades, a steadily increasing amount of literature has documented the influential role that self-perceptions of ability play in human motivation and action. Self-percepts of ability guide the choice of tasks and activities, determine how much effort is expended on a task and how long effort is sustained when difficulties emerge or failure occurs (Kukla, 1972, 1978; Meyer, 1973 b, 1984; Nicholls, 1984). Estimating one’s own ability as high or low may increase or undermine intrinsic motivation (Deci, 1975, 1980). Self-percepts of low ability can lead to avoidance behavior and to phobic reactions because stressful aspects of the environment are perceived as exceeding one’s own capabilities (Bandura, 1977 a). In addition, attributing failure to low ability is among the factors that cause learned helplessness and depression (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978), and one of the central characteristics of high test anxiety is the belief that one’s own ability is low (Nicholls, 1976; Sarason, 1980; Wine, 1982). The concept of self-perceived ability forms the cornerstone of theories dealing with these different behavioral manifestations.