Emotional display rules and emotion self‐regulation: Associations with bullying and victimization in community‐based after school programs

We explored linkages among different components of emotional competence and bullying and victimization in children enrolled in community after school programs. Seventy‐seven children were recruited from after school programs and their display rule knowledge for sadness and anger was evaluated. Their emotion self‐regulation skills and bullying experiences were also assessed. Knowledge of display rules for sadness was a negative predictor of physical victimization whereas emotional lability/negativity was positively related to bullying. Boys bullied more than girls and family income was negatively related to bullying and emotional lability/negativity and positively associated with emotion self‐regulation. Emotion self‐regulation mediated the relation between family income and bullying. Analyses also suggested that bullies and bully‐victims had poorer emotion self‐regulation skills than non‐bullies/victims or victims. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implementation intentions as goal primes: Boosting self‐control in tempting environments

People often forget their long‐term strivings because their environment confronts them with attractive temptations. Previous research suggests that self‐control failures can be prevented by reminding people of their higher‐order goal. Therefore, we hypothesized that using implementation intentions as a tool to directly re‐activate people's higher‐order goal in tempting situations would effectively enhance self‐control. We tested this in the domain of dieting behavior. Results demonstrated that this specific planning strategy activated the dieting goal for unsuccessful dieters when exposed to tempting food cues (Study 1) and reduced their consumption of calorically dense food across 2 weeks (Study 2) compared to those in control conditions. This suggests that preparing people to think of their higher‐order goal when tempted can be used to protect ongoing goal striving. Appealing to higher‐order goals potentially makes implementation intentions flexible instruments of self‐regulation as this should trigger motivated behavior to reach goals and initiate various goal‐instrumental actions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Informative sources of math‐related self‐efficacy expectations and their relationship with math‐related self‐efficacy,interest, and preference

In this study, by using the hypotheses of social‐cognitive career theory (SCCT), the relationship between informative sources of math‐related self‐efficacy expectations and self‐efficacy, interest, and math‐weighted major preferences were investigated. The participants in this study were students (N = 590) from high schools in Southern Turkey. Participants completed measures of sources of math‐related self‐efficacy, self‐efficacy, interest, and choice consideration related to math‐weighted majors. While running analyses, sampling was split in half at random and psychometric analyses of the scales were run with the first half (n = 298); the second half (n = 292) was used to test the hypotheses. By doing this, the testing of hypotheses would not be affected by just one specific sampling characteristic. A structural equation model was tested and findings indicated general support for hypotheses that these sources predict self‐efficacy beliefs and these beliefs also predict interest. However, contrary to SCCT's predictions, math‐weighted major preferences are not predicted by math‐related self‐efficacy expectations and interest. In the Discussion, first, the reasons why the measurement of vicarious learning or modelling did not significantly predict self‐efficacy expectations focus on the relationships between personal accomplishments and persuasion and reported physiological arousal and personal accomplishments. Some information is given as to how counsellors and math teachers can work collaboratively to raise perceptions about informative sources. Second, explanations are given about why self‐efficacy and interest did not predict math‐weighted preferences. It is mentioned that this could be the reason for the constrained and complex system of the university entrance exams and placement in Turkey. The importance of investigating environmental variables on SCCT in developing countries was emphasized. Suggestions are also given for further research. It is concluded that this theory should be tested in developing countries like Turkey.     

Creative self‐efficacy as mediator between creative mindsets and creative problem‐solving

An emerging area of research is how one's mindset regarding the fixedness and malleability of creative ability relates to creative performance. Malleable creative mindsets tend to be positively related to creativity while fixed mindsets often show a negative association. Similarly, creative self‐efficacy, or one's beliefs that they have the capacity to be creative, is also related to creative performance and creative mindsets. While previous studies tested the direct relationship between mindsets and creativity, this study tested creative self‐efficacy in this relationship. A total of 152 students from a Midwestern university participated in the study. They were provided with measures of creative self‐efficacy, creative mindsets, and creative problem‐solving. Solutions were assessed in terms of quality and originality. Results indicated that both malleable creative mindsets and creative self‐efficacy were positively related to solution quality and originality while fixed creative mindsets were negatively related. Mediation analysis using Preacher and Hayes' (2004) bootstrapping macro showed that creative self‐efficacy mediated the relationship between malleable mindsets and quality and originality as well as the relationship between fixed mindsets and quality and originality. This research advances the study of creativity by demonstrating that creative self‐efficacy is an important mechanism through which creative mindsets relate to creative performance.     

Behavioral and self‐reported aggression as a function of domain‐specific self‐esteem

On the basis of a domain‐specific theory of self‐esteem, it was hypothesized that functionally distinct domains of self‐esteem would predict aggression differentially. Participants completed self‐report measures of self‐perceived superiority, mate value, social inclusion, and global self‐esteem, as well as of aggression. Self‐assessed mate value emerged as a reliable, positive predictor, and social inclusion as a reliable inverse predictor, of self‐reported hostility and aggression. In a subsequent laboratory experiment, in which participants had an opportunity to aggress against the source of positive or negative feedback about a personal essay that they had written, mate value again predicted increased aggression, whereas global self‐esteem predicted decreased aggression. These main effects were moderated by the feedback manipulation, such that their respective simple effects were only present among participants that received negative feedback. Aggr. Behav. 00:1–11, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Perfectionism and career decision‐making self‐efficacy

This study investigated the relationship between perfectionism and career decision‐making self‐efficacy. Participants completed the Almost Perfect Scale—Revised (R. B. Slaney, K. G. Rice, M. Mobley, J. Trippi, & J. S. Ashby, 2001) and the Career Decision‐Making Self‐Efficacy—Short Form (N. E. Betz, K. L. Klein, & K. M. Taylor, 1996). Adaptive perfectionists had higher levels of career decision‐making self‐efficacy than did maladaptive perfectionists and nonperfectionists. There was no difference between maladaptive perfectionists and nonperfectionists in career decision‐making self‐efficacy. Findings add to a growing body of research that suggests perfectionism has adaptive and maladaptive components. Implications for counseling and limitations are discussed.     

Influence of achievement goals and self‐efficacy on students' self‐regulation and performance

It is widely admitted that low self‐efficacy has a detrimental impact on the functioning and performance of a person mainly concerned with performance goals but has no impact when a person is mainly concerned with learning goals (Dweck, 1986 ). However, results from both correlational and experimental studies are divergent. Since these studies examined very few indicators of participants' cognitive functioning, they may have failed to detect those aspects that could be more vulnerable to a negative impact of the combination of performance goals and low self‐efficacy. Another concern is the lack of most studies to clearly distinguish the type of performance goal examined, particularly the performance‐avoidance versus the performance‐approach goal. In the current study, we decided to focus on performance‐approach and learning goals in order to examine how self‐efficacy intervenes in their effects on participants' self‐regulation and performance on a cognitive task. One hundred and forty participants (85 females and 55 males) were examined. They were randomly assigned either to the learning or the performance‐approach goals condition. In each condition, half of the participants received feedback aimed at inducing either high or low self‐efficacy beliefs with regard to the task prior to executing it aloud. Examination of participants' verbal reports, direct observation of some of their behaviours while solving the task, and responses to a retrospective questionnaire allowed the assessment of several indicators of their self‐regulation and performance. As already reported by many studies, self‐efficacy influenced various aspects of participants' self‐regulation and performance. However, contrary to Dweck's hypothesis ( 1986 ), when interaction effects between self‐efficacy and goals were observed, they always involved learning instead of performance‐approach goals. Findings of this study suggest that the nature of the goal might not matter as much as its personal significance or value.     

Academic self‐handicapping: Relationships with learning specific and general self‐perceptions and academic performance over time

Background. Academic self‐handicapping (ASH) tendencies, strategies students employ that increase their chances of failure on assessments while protecting self‐esteem, are correlated with classroom goal structures and to learners' general self‐perceptions and learning strategies. In particular, greater ASH is related to poorer academic performance but has yet to be examined with respect to learners' performance across a series of tests. Aims. This research was designed to examine the relationship between students' ASH tendencies and their self‐concept clarity, learning strategies, and performance on a series of tests in a university course. Sample. A total of 209 (153 female; 56 male) Canadian university psychology students participated in this study. Methods. Participants' ASH tendencies, self‐concept clarity, approaches to learning, and self‐regulatory learning strategies were assessed along with expected grades and hours of study in the course from which they were recruited. Finally, students' grades were obtained for the three tests for the course from which they were recruited. Results. Students reporting greater self‐handicapping tendencies reported lower self‐concept clarity, lower academic self‐efficacy, greater test anxiety, more superficial learning strategies, and scored lower on all tests in the course. The relationships of ASH scores and learner variables with performance varied across the three performance indices. In particular, ASH scores were more strongly related to second and third tests, and prior performances were accounted for. ASH scores accounted for a relatively small but significant proportion of variance for all three tests. Conclusions. These results showed that ASH is a unique contributing factor in student performance outcomes, and may be particularly important after students complete the initial assessment in a course.     

Trust in organization as a moderator of the relationship between self‐efficacy and workplace outcomes: A social cognitive theory‐based examination

Drawing on a social cognitive theory perspective, we contend that an employee's trust in oneself, or self‐efficacy, will interact with the individual's trust in the system, or trust in organization, to predict job attitudes and behaviours. Specifically, we expected that self‐efficacy would have stronger effects on job attitudes (job satisfaction and turnover intentions) and behaviours (task performance and organizational citizenship behaviours) to the degree to which employees perceive high levels of trust in organization. Using data collected from 300 employees and their respective supervisors at a manufacturing organization in Turkey across three waves, we found that self‐efficacy had more positive effects on job satisfaction, task performance, and citizenship behaviours when trust in organization was high. Interestingly, self‐efficacy had a positive effect on turnover intentions when trust in organization was low, indicating that high trust in organization buffered the effects of self‐efficacy on intentions to leave. The results suggest that the motivational value of trust in oneself is stronger to the degree to which employees also have high trust in the system, whereas low trust in system neutralizes the motivational benefits of self‐efficacy.

Practitioner points

• Practicing managers should not only invest in increasing self‐efficacy of their employees, but also invest in building trust to improve employees’ attitudes, behaviours, and performance. This is because when employee trust in organization is high, employee self‐efficacy has greater potential to have a positive influence over job satisfaction, task performance, and organizational citizenship behaviours.
• Self‐efficacy may actually increase an employee's desire to leave the organization when organizational conditions are unfavourable, such as in the case of low trust in the organization. Practicing managers should be aware that employees who have high levels of confidence may be at higher risk of turnover when they are unhappy with the organization.

     

Social and emotional self‐efficacy at work

Research has shown that self‐efficacy is often one of the most important personal resources in the work context. However, because this research has focused on cognitive and task‐oriented self‐efficacy, little is known about social and emotional dimensions of self‐efficacy at work. The main aim of the present study was to investigate social and emotional self‐efficacy dimensions at work and to compare them to a cognitive and task‐oriented dimension. Scales to measure social and emotional self‐efficacy at work were developed and validated and found to be well differentiated from the cognitive task‐oriented occupational self‐efficacy scale. Confirmatory factor analyses of data from 226 Swedish and 591 German employees resulted in four separate but correlated self‐efficacy dimensions: (1) occupational; (2) social; (3) self‐oriented emotional; and (4) other‐oriented emotional. Social self‐efficacy explained additional variance in team climate and emotional self‐efficacy in emotional irritation and emotional exhaustion, over and above effects of occupational self‐efficacy. Men reported higher occupational self‐efficacy, whereas social and emotional self‐efficacy revealed no clear gender differences. The scales have strong psychometric properties in both Swedish and German language versions. The positive association between social self‐efficacy and team climate, and the negative relationships between self‐oriented emotional self‐efficacy and emotional irritation and emotional exhaustion may provide promising tools for practical applications in work settings such as team‐building, staff development, recruitment or other training programs aiming for work place health promotion. The next step will be to study how social and emotional self‐efficacy relate to leadership, well‐being and health over time.     

Identification With All Humanity: The role of self‐definition and self‐investment

Identification With All Humanity (IWAH) relates to higher levels of concern and supportive behavior toward the disadvantaged, stronger endorsement of human rights, and stronger responses in favor of global harmony. So far, IWAH has been conceptualized as a one‐dimensional construct describing the degree with which one identifies with all humans as a superordinate ingroup. However, recent group identification models suggest a multi‐dimensional model to provide a more differentiated approach toward the understanding of the highest level of social identification. Using principal axis (Study 1) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analyses, we suggest that IWAH sub‐divides into two dimensions—global self‐definition and global self‐investment. Study 2 revealed that global self‐investment was a stronger predictor for both convergent measures (e.g., social dominance orientation and authoritarianism) and behavioral intentions than global self‐definition. Finally, in Study 3, we manipulated IWAH to test its causal effect on donation behavior. Participants in the experimental condition, compared with the control condition, showed higher global self‐investment, which in turn predicted greater giving to global charity. These findings suggest that two dimensions with different behavioral outcomes underlie IWAH.     

Personality,self‐esteem,and self‐construal as correlates of forgivingness

The relationship between forgivingness (enduring resentment, sensitivity to circumstances, and overall propensity to forgive) and a number of personality dimensions relevant to forgivingness was examined. These dimensions were self‐esteem, shyness and embarrassment, on one hand, and self‐construal and perceived loneliness, on the other hand. The main relationships between forgivingness and personality concerned the interpersonal dimensions of personality: shyness, embarrassment, independence from others, and interdependence with others. However, the intra‐personal, strictly self‐referential concomitants of these dimensions (self‐esteem and loneliness) were not much linked to forgivingness. Furthermore, each personality factor had a distinct link with forgivingness: independence made the resentment still more enduring, shyness and social embarrassment exacerbated the sensitivity to circumstances, and interdependence increased the willingness to forgive. These findings throw light on the double aspect of forgiveness as intra‐ and inter‐individual and on the relative independence of these aspects. The observed pattern of relationships varied notably (and significantly) as a function of the participants' genders. It could be therefore important, in future studies, to compute systematically correlation coefficients or assess main effects separately for women and men. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self‐efficacy as a moderator of negative and positive self‐fulfilling prophecy effects: mothers' beliefs and children's alcohol use

This research examined two issues relevant to self‐fulfilling prophecies. First, it examined whether children's risk for alcohol use, as indicated by their self‐efficacy to refuse alcohol from peers, moderated their susceptibility to negative and positive self‐fulfilling prophecy effects created by their mothers. Second, it explored behavioral mediators that could be involved in the self‐fulfilling process between mothers and children. Longitudinal data from 540 mother–child dyads indicated that (1) low self‐efficacy children were more susceptible to their mothers' positive than negative self‐fulfilling effects, whereas high self‐efficacy children's susceptibility did not vary, (2) mothers' global parenting and children's perception of their friends' alcohol use partially mediated mothers' self‐fulfilling effects, and (3) these mediators contributed to low self‐efficacy children's greater susceptibility to positive self‐fulfilling prophecy effects. The power of self‐fulfilling prophecies, their link to social problems, and the potential for mothers' favorable beliefs to have a protective influence on adolescent alcohol use are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimism and realism: A review of self‐efficacy from a cross‐cultural perspective

T his review critically examines much of the research investigating self‐efficacy beliefs through cross‐cultural comparisons. Two sets of cross‐cultural comparison groups are examined: Asian (or immigrant Asian) versus Western, and Eastern European versus Western European and American groups. After an introduction to self‐efficacy theory, some cross‐cultural aspects of self and self‐beliefs are discussed, and the cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism are introduced. Analysis of the articles focuses on differences in levels of efficacy beliefs, calibration of beliefs with performance, methodological problems, and implications for practice. Almost all of the 20 studies reviewed found efficacy beliefs to be lower for non‐Western cultural groups, but in some cases these lower beliefs were more predictive of subsequent functioning. There is some evidence that the mean efficacy beliefs of a cultural group are modified through immigration or political changes. For some non‐Western groups, collective efficacy appears to operate in much the same way as self‐efficacy operates for Western groups. Realistic—as opposed to optimistic—efficacy beliefs do not necessarily predict poor performance for all cultural groups, as has been suggested by self‐efficacy theory. Only a minority of the studies included measurement of cultural dimensions such as individualism and collectivism, although most of the studies based conclusions on assumed cultural differences. In some cases, self‐efficacy was poorly defined and bore little resemblance to theoretically derived definitions. Conclusions from this research have implications especially for applied settings in education and business: Efficacy beliefs and performance appear to be enhanced when training approaches are congruent with the individual's sense of self. Lower levels of self‐efficacy beliefs found in some collectivist groups do not always signify lower subsequent performance, but are instead reflective of differing construals of self.     

Impression management motive and voice: Moderating effects of self‐monitoring,self‐efficacy,and voice instrumentality

The purpose of this study is to examine how employees’ impression management motive influences their voice by considering dispositional and situational variables. Drawing on the theory of self‐motive, we hypothesized that voice would be more positively related to impression management motive than prosocial motive. In addition, based on the interactional approach of motive and trait and trait activation theory, we hypothesized that the relationship between impression management motive and voice would be moderated by self‐monitoring, self‐efficacy, and voice instrumentality. Using a sample of 307 supervisor–subordinate dyads from South Korea, we found that, although prosocial motive had a positive influence on voice, impression management motive had a stronger influence on voice than prosocial motive. We also found that the positive influence of impression management motive on voice was stronger for employees with high levels of self‐monitoring, self‐efficacy, and voice instrumentality. This study helps verify the boundary conditions as to when impression management motive is strongly related to voice. In addition, this study will provide theoretical clues for resolving the inconsistent findings on the relationship between impression management motive and voice.     

Self‐efficacy,self‐esteem,and entrepreneurship among the unemployed

This study focuses on entrepreneurial self‐efficacy, general self‐efficacy, and global self‐esteem and on their role in the entrepreneurial process. Apart from providing evidence of the relationship between these self‐beliefs and entrepreneurial intention, it also demonstrates how they are related to actual business start‐up. Longitudinal data were obtained from 332 unemployed individuals. After 1 year, official confirmations of new firm registrations were collected. Higher levels of all 3 self‐referent beliefs were positively associated with entrepreneurial intention. Multivariate analyses showed that entrepreneurial and general self‐efficacy beliefs were important predictors of this intention. Self‐referent beliefs accounted for an additional 12% of the variance in entrepreneurial intention and for an additional 4% of the variance in actual business start‐up beyond the demographic variables.     

Witness self‐efficacy: Development and validation of the construct

Despite the application of Self‐Efficacy Theory (Bandura, 1977 , 2000 ) to many areas of psychology, there is a lack of research on self‐efficacy in the ability to testify in court. The present study fills this gap by incrementally developing the construct of Witness Self‐Efficacy and establishing its psychometric properties. Study I features exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielding a two‐factor Witness Self‐Efficacy Scale (WSES). The two components are Poise and Communication Style. Study II uses a second data collection to show that both WSES domains possess convergent, divergent, and predictive validity relations consistent with those expected using an SET framework. Notably, WSES components predicted perceptions of witness credibility and sentencing outcomes above and beyond witness extraversion, general self‐efficacy, and general self‐confidence. Implications for SET and witness preparation training are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The contribution of agreeableness and self‐efficacy beliefs to prosociality

The present study examined how agreeableness and self‐efficacy beliefs about responding empathically to others' needs predict individuals' prosociality across time. Participants were 377 adolescents (66% males) aged 16 at Time 1 and 18 at Time 2 who took part at this study. Measures of agreeableness, empathic self‐efficacy and prosociality were collected at two time points. The findings corroborated the posited paths of relations to assigning agreeableness a major role in predicting the level of individuals' prosociality. Empathic self‐efficacy beliefs partially mediated the relation of agreeableness to prosociality. The posited conceptual model accounted for a significant portion of variance in prosociality and provides guidance with respect to interventions aimed at promoting prosociality. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.