Cultural Differences in Self-Efficacy Essay
2009 Words
Mar 2nd, 2013
9 Pages
Cultural Differences in Self-Efficacy
Introduction Bandura (1997) defined self-efficacy as “beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to produce given attainments” (p. 3). Self-efficacy refers to the judgments of what one can do with whatever skills one possesses rather than the judgments of the skills themselves. In self-efficacy theory, people evaluate their skills and abilities and convert their beliefs about their capabilities into purposive action (Bandura, 1997). As people enact their self-efficacy beliefs, they demonstrate a degree of control over (a) the activities they choose to pursue, (b) the persistence they display in the pursuit of goals, and …show more content…
Introduction Bandura (1997) defined self-efficacy as “beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to produce given attainments” (p. 3). Self-efficacy refers to the judgments of what one can do with whatever skills one possesses rather than the judgments of the skills themselves. In self-efficacy theory, people evaluate their skills and abilities and convert their beliefs about their capabilities into purposive action (Bandura, 1997). As people enact their self-efficacy beliefs, they demonstrate a degree of control over (a) the activities they choose to pursue, (b) the persistence they display in the pursuit of goals, and …show more content…
Self-appraisals of competence are partly based on the opinions of significant others who presumably possess evaluative power (Bandura, 1997). Last, students rely partly on somatic information conveyed by physiological or emotional states in judging their self-efficacy beliefs through cognitive processing (Bandura, 1997).
Hypotheses
The purpose of this study is to investigate cultural differences on self-efficacy and its sources. Specifically, higher self-efficacy is expected in ‘individualism’ culture than ‘collectivism’ culture (hypothesis 1). Two cultures (Korea as collectivism culture and America as individualism culture) will be used in this study. Among the sources of self-efficacy suggested by Bandura(1997), students from collectivism culture will be more influenced by vicarious experience and social persuasion (hypothesis 2). On the other hand, students from individualism will be more influenced by personal mastery experiences and emotional state because personal experiences are often emphasized to a greater extent within individualist societies (hypothesis 3). An experiment with four different manipulations will be conducted to examine these hypotheses.
Method
Subjects For Korean group, 160 college students will be recruited from a university located in Seoul, Korea. For American group, 160 college students will be selected from Georgia State University (total: 320 subjects). International students will be excluded from the
Hypotheses
The purpose of this study is to investigate cultural differences on self-efficacy and its sources. Specifically, higher self-efficacy is expected in ‘individualism’ culture than ‘collectivism’ culture (hypothesis 1). Two cultures (Korea as collectivism culture and America as individualism culture) will be used in this study. Among the sources of self-efficacy suggested by Bandura(1997), students from collectivism culture will be more influenced by vicarious experience and social persuasion (hypothesis 2). On the other hand, students from individualism will be more influenced by personal mastery experiences and emotional state because personal experiences are often emphasized to a greater extent within individualist societies (hypothesis 3). An experiment with four different manipulations will be conducted to examine these hypotheses.
Method
Subjects For Korean group, 160 college students will be recruited from a university located in Seoul, Korea. For American group, 160 college students will be selected from Georgia State University (total: 320 subjects). International students will be excluded from the