Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in their competency to complete tasks and achieve goals.

Children and adults with high self-efficacy tend to be more persistent, experience lower levels of anxiety and depression, maintain better health, and perform well academically.

Self-efficacy reliably predicts both workplace productivity and academic performance, as it strongly correlates with a student’s GPA.

When facing challenges, people with high self-efficacy stay calm and focus on solutions rather than dwell on their inadequacy.

Additionally, self-efficacy and self-esteem are distinct concepts. Self-esteem reflects overall self-worth, whereas self-efficacy is confidence in one’s ability to succeed at specific tasks.

For example, during childhood, encouragements such as “You’re special " boost self-esteem, and “You can do it” build self-efficacy.

In a study, children who received effort-based praise, such as “You worked hard,” performed better than those who received trait-based praise like “You’re smart.”

Children praised for effort felt more motivated to try again, while those praised for intelligence avoided risks to avoid failure, indicating that fostering self-efficacy promotes growth rather than boosting self-esteem.