Self-Efficacy Theory by Albert Bandura Essay

Bandura has studied self-efficacy, which is the extent or strength of one’s belief in one’s own ability to complete tasks and reach goals. Self-efficacy can affect all types of behaviors like academics, social and recreational. A child might have the ability to accomplish a task, but if they do not feel like they are capable of doing so, then they may fail or may not attempt the task. For example, in a study difficult math problems were given to children with

Albert Bandura introduced the Self-Efficacy Theory in the late 1970s. Self-Efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to perform actions to complete a task or goal attainment. It has been applied to many areas such as smoking cessation, eating, and pain control. It can also be applied to childhood asthma to share insight on the child’s belief. Believing in oneself and the ability to manage their own care is a very important aspect of self-care.

This paper will explore the impact confidence has on a new graduate nurse (NGN)’s practice. It will start by exploring personal reflection focusing on the importance and impact confidence has had on my practice. It will also discuss professional reflection touching on: my Nursing 495 learning plan, my clinical experience, connecting it to literature. This paper will conclude with the impact confidence will have on my future practice. In this paper, self-confidence is defined “as the belief of a person in her or his own abilities to achieve goals and perform tasks and practices in an effective and efficient manner”.

Person can refer to the patient himself or herself. In the metaparadigm of nursing, person refers to more than just the patient, but also the family members, friends, relatives, and caregivers from the home setting. The nurse’s goal when caring for the patient is to nurture and empower the patient to manage their own health. Dorthea Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory (SCDNT) supports this idea of empowering the person of the metaparadigm concept. Orem states that if the person is unable to take care of themselves then others must provide the care (Alligood, 2014). Orem states that individuals are subject to the forces of nature and her theory of self-care deficit states that

In conclusion, metaparadigm theories of nursing are a knowledge based discipline and focus on the wholeness of human beings. Holistic nursing encourages nurses to integrate selfcare and self-responsibility and spiritually reflection in their

A patient centered approach is an important element in promoting self-efficacy as it encourages patients to participate in their care and become part of the decision making (Eich, Kiss, Langewitz & Wossmer, 1998). When the patient is excluded from the discussion and decision making of the nursing staff it makes room for a loss of opportunity by the patient for health promotion and self-efficacy. Patients’ perceptions of their level of self-efficacy could either augment or interfere with their health teaching learning abilities. As cited by Kaşıkçı, M. (2011) a central concept in Bandura’s theory (1997), self-efficacy is defined as the degree of confidence that individuals have in their ability to perform specific activities successfully.

Bandura focused on perceived self-efficacy, which he defines as a belief in one’s own capability to organize and execute the course of action required to attain a goal. (Bandura, 1977).

In this chapter, Rivera outlines and describes three existing theories: Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy, Vygotsky’s Constructivist Theory, and Social Interdependence Theory. She also refers to multiple sources and explains their opinions about these theories. She goes one step further to clarify how these theories directly correlate with her research topic.

A metaparadigm is the world’s interpretation of a discipline and the view that differentiates the focus of a discipline (Butts, 2015). Metaparadigms are the most abstract perspective of a discipline and is made up of various concepts which describe the discipline. The most recognized concepts of the nursing metaparadigms are person, environment, health, and nursing (Butts, 2015). The person is the individual the nurse interacts with in a therapeutic manner. The nurse not only can interact with one person but also a group of people. The group can consist smaller groups like families or larger groups which can be seen in public health. The person can also be identified in some settings as the patient or client (Tourville & Ingalls, 2003). The author’s view on person is that of the whole person. Interacting with the person holistically, mind, body, and spirit are important in her practice.

Three of which include, his or her cognition towards situations, his or her emotional status, and the decision-making process of that individual. Self-efficacy affects an individual’s cognition towards a situation due to the fact that a person’s view can greatly influence the outcome of that situation. Therefore, thinking in an optimistic manner can be beneficial, whereas thinking in a negative manner towards a circumstance can be detrimental. Self-efficacy can affect the emotional status of an individual, in that a resilient sense of self-efficacy enables an individual to recognize that it is normal for him or her to feel discouraged in certain situations, and this transpires in a determination to persevere and turn the outcomes of his or her circumstances into success. The manner in which self-efficacy affects an individual’s decision-making process is that it facilitates the individual to recognize that there is always a choice for choosing the way he or she will experience a certain situation or circumstance. In summation, the concept of self-efficacy pioneered by Albert Bandura elucidates that through an individual mastery of his or her thoughts emotions and decisions with the guidance of past circumstances he or she will be able to recognize the ability to shape the outcomes of his or her situations and circumstances. Therefore, the concept of self-efficacy has proven to be a paramount dynamic in the positive field of psychology regarding the prerequisite for behavior

Virtually all people can identify goals they want to accomplish, things they would like to change, and things they would like to achieve. However, most people also realize that putting these plans into action is not quite so simple. Bandura and others have found that an individual’s self-efficacy plays a major role in how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached.

The concept of interest is self-efficacy. This began in 1977 with Bandura’s social learning theory that was renamed social cognitive theory in 1986, of which self-efficacy was one of the major concepts of his theory. Self-efficacy makes a difference in how people will feel, think, behave, and motivate themselves. A low sense of self-efficacy can be associated with stress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of helplessness. Such individuals also have low self-esteem and become pessimistic about their accomplishments and personal development. In thinking terms, a strong sense of efficacy facilitates cognitive processes and performance in a variety of settings, including the quality of decision-making and academic achievement. When it comes to behavior, self-efficacy can be said to influence people’s choice of activities as self-efficacy levels can foster or decrease a person’s motivation. People with high self-efficacy approach difficult tasks as challenges and do not try to avoid them. People’s self-efficacy beliefs determine their level of motivation, as reflected in how much effort they will

Fawcett’s (1994) stated there was a general agreement that the concepts metaparadigm of nursing were

The core concept that is similar to both Orem and Henderson’s Theory is the practice of nursing to support the recovery from illness to achieve optimal health (Administration, 2011).

Orem’s Self-Care Theory lays the foundation to measure self-care maintenance, management, and confidence. The framework of Orem’s theory contributes an optimistic patient view to their own personal healthcare and the goal of nurses, and the independent function of their patients. The identification of nursing as a science and an art are identified as well as its boundaries, and serve as unique contributions to nursing. The research that Orem completed was designed to measure self-care deficits and the quality of life to help determine the correlation between both (Seed & Torkelson, 2012).