Self-Reinforcement and Self-Efficacy

In Bandura’s approach to personality, the self is not some psychic agent that determines or causes behavior. Rather, the self is a set of cognitive processes and structures concerned with thought and perception. Two important aspects of the self are self-reinforcement and self-efficacy.

Self-reinforcement
Self-reinforcement is an administering rewards or punishments to oneself for meeting, exceeding, or falling short of one’s own expectations or standards. Self-reinforcement is much like other theorist’s conscious or superego, but Bandura denies this is the same. A continuing process of self-reinforcement regulates much of our behavior. We learn our initial set of internal standards from the behavior of models, typically our parents and teachers.

Self-Efficacy
In Bandura’s system, self-efficacy refers to feelings of adequacy, efficiency, and competence in coping with life. Meeting and maintaining our performance standards enhances self-efficacy; failure to meet and maintain them reduces it. People low in self-efficacy feel helpless, unable to exercise control over life events. People who have high self-efficacy believe they can deal effectively with events and situations. Because they expect to succeed in overcoming obstacles, they persevere at tasks and often perform at a high level.

Sources of information about self-efficacy
According to Bandura, we base our judgment about our self-efficacy on four sources of information:
(A) Previous success experiences, or performance attainment; provides a direct indication of our level of mastery and competence,
(B) having vicarious experiences, which is seeing other people perform successfully; will strengthen self-efficacy,
(C) while verbal persuasion means reminding people that they possess the ability to achieve whatever they want to achieve, which can enhance self-efficacy, and
(D) Physiological and emotional arousal can interfere with self-efficacy when it is at high levels in a person.

Bandura has helped people to enhance self-efficacy in learning to play musical instruments, relate better to persons of the opposite sex, master computer skills, give up cigarette smoking, and conquer phobias and physical pain.