## Notes [[Self-efficacy]] ## Highlights Self-efficacy may be an academic theory, but we all have some experience with the concept. We can recall situations where we felt assured of our abilities, and others where we seriously doubted we could succeed. We know first-hand the consequences these beliefs had on our motivation. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hgpt8x89pvhz4971x9q42q21)) consistent sources of self-efficacy: 1. **Vicarious experience.** Witnessing someone perform the task increases self-efficacy. Firstly, this works by giving us a way to learn an effective strategy: If I watch someone solve a puzzle, I can copy their approach to get the same result. There is also a motivational piece: If I see another spider-phobic person touch a tarantula, I might gain courage to do so as well. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hgptbbs3xkfg0p1bzampacr4)) **Personal mastery.** Personally experiencing success with a task (or something like it) is the most powerful tool improving self-efficacy. I’ll feel more confident I can run a marathon after I’ve run a half-marathon. I’ll feel more confident I can be a software developer after I’ve aced my intro programming class. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hgptbkmqa5qr740c75db2tgs)) Motivation builds from success. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hgptc835gsjgrmm3wmxsabw9)) If you have low self-efficacy, it helps to build a foundation of success. Once you have established a basic level of confidence, mixing challenges with occasional setbacks helps make that self-efficacy more robust. You’ll learn that you can succeed, even in the face of momentary difficulties. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hgptdeh52s2a5fkw4h701zx2)) The confidence spiral can go up—or down. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hgptefr40vh3k5frcga1rr9d)) Learn from Others, Succeed Yourself. Self-efficacy was only a part of Bandura’s broader social learning theory. In it, he argued that most of what we know comes from other people, and we learn how to do most things by witnessing the behavior of others—not through our own trial-and-error. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hgptex6e1sapk0zftrxydwje))