Chapter 5

A topic that I read about in Chapter 5 was self-efficacy, and as defined by the book self-efficacy is, "a person's belief about his or her own chances of successfully accomplishing a specific task." According to an expert self efficacy begins to manifest itself in a person through the experiences that they have in their childhood and also through the many skills that they pick up in many different areas/fields. Though self-esteem is not the same thing as self-efficacy, self esteem does however contribute positively on a persons self efficacy. Self-efficacy and performance is a "cyclical one", in the sense that a person can either spiral upwards towards success, or downwards to failure. Of course people who spiral downwards toward failure do so because they have a low self-efficacy, and people with such a view will tend to panic more easily and believe that they have no control over their surroundings. On the other hand people with strong self-efficacy are quick to get back up when they fall, and they refuse to quit or give up. Such people also develop of deep sense of interest in various activities, and will follow through on that they commit to, and face every challenge with a positive attitude believing they can supersede anything.

http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/self_efficacy.htm