Why Self-Efficacy Matters

At some point all of us have felt our confidence waver or worried we couldn’t overcome a problem we faced. But can we really learn to persevere—and even get better at it over time? Mamie Morrow knows we can. Building on her 20 years’ experience as an educator, Morrow shows us how our belief in our own ability to succeed is critical to actually succeeding, and how this belief—known as “self-efficacy”—can in fact be taught once it’s broken down into its constituent parts. The keys to self-efficacy include personally experiencing success with the specific task; observing others like ourselves succeeding in the task; receiving regular encouragement; and learning to reinterpret and thus manage negative feelings, including anxiety and the fear of failure.