ANÁLISIS Y DISCUSIÓN DE RESULTADOS

Self-efficacy is different from other conceptions of self, such as self-concept, and self- esteem, in that self-efficacy is specific to a particular task (Bandura, 1997; Tschannen- Moran et al., 1998). Self-concept is commonly defined as a composite view of oneself. Byrne and Shavelson (1996) believe self-concept as people’s perceptions of theirselves that influence the ways in which they act, and their acts in turn influence the ways in which they perceive theirselves.

Self-concept is formed through experiences with the environment and is influenced especially by environmental reinforcements and significant others (Byrne & Shavelson, 1996). Self-concept is also characterized as having both descriptive and evaluative elements (Hansen, 2005). Purkey and Novak (1996) further describe self-concept as a “complex, organized and dynamic system of learned beliefs, attitudes and opinions that each person holds to be true about his or her personal existence” (p.1).

Different from self-concept, self-esteem usually refers to a trait reflecting an individual's characteristic affective evaluation of self, such as feelings of self-worth or self-liking. By contrast, self-efficacy is “a judgment about task capability that is not inherently evaluative” (Gist & Mitchell, 1992, p. 85).A person may feel demotivated or less efficacious for a certain activity, such as playing badminton or speaking in front of many people, because that person has not invested self-worth in doing that activity well. Therefore, he/she suffers of self-esteem. On the other hand, a person may possess a

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great skill or capability in a certain activity, but he/she still feels less efficacious because he/she has set very difficult standards to meet (Hansen, 2005). A person may question his/her self-worth, despite being very competent, if other people do not value his/her accomplishments, if his/her skills cause harm to others, or if he/she is a member of groups that are not valued by society (Bandura, 1997). In relation to teaching activity, high achieving teachers tend to set themselves high standards, and every time the standards are not met they are tempted to evaluate themselves negatively (Hansen, 2005).

On the other hand, self-efficacy itself refers to:

One’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments.... Such beliefs influence the course of action people choose to pursue, how much effort they put forth in given endeavors, how long they will persevere in the face of obstacles and failures, their resilience to adversity, whether their thought patterns are self-hindering or self-aiding, how much stress and depression they experience in coping with taxing environmental demands, and the level of accomplishments they realize (Bandura, 1997, p. 3).

Like self-concept and self-esteem, self-efficacy is related to one’s thought, emotion, and action. However, as Bandura (1997) states, efficacy judgment considers more important what individuals believe they can do with whatever skills and abilities they may possess and is less concerned with what skills and abilities individuals possess. The self-concept judgment itself is considered more an evaluation of skills and abilities. While self- efficacy represents individuals’ expectations and convictions of what they can accomplish in given situations, self-concept represents one’s general perceptions of the self in given domains of functioning (Bandura, 1993; Soupen, 2013).

Woolfolk Hoy (2004) and Gibbs (1994) give additional definitions of self-efficacy, self- esteem, and self-concept in order to understand the difference between them. Self- esteem involves individuals’ emotional reactions to their actual accomplishments, such as feeling good or bad about themselves because they can or cannot convey speech well in front of many people or get good grades in English. Self-efficacy also is different from self-concept, which reflects more general beliefs about competence (e.g., I can

19 efficacy beliefs refer to much more specific and situational judgments of capabilities. Gresham, Evans, and Elliott (1998) offer further distinctions of the three aspects (i.e. self-efficacy, self-concept, and self-esteem) in order to distinguish between them.

Self-concept contains information that contributes to individuals’ self-esteem or evaluation of self-worth. Judgments of self-esteem and self-capability (i.e., self- efficacy) are not equivalent. Self-esteem depends in part of how the culture values

one’s behavior and its relation to personal standards. Self-efficacy percepts are

concerned with judgment of personal capabilities. These two constructs may moderate each other, as when students regard themselves as highly efficacious in an activity that is not culturally valued or judge themselves inefficacious at an activity with no self-esteem loss. Accordingly, people typically cultivate self- efficacy in activities that give them a sense of self-worth and, thereby, enhance self-concept (p. 135).

Besides the importance of knowing the difference between self-efficacy and other self- concepts, it is also necessary to know the main sources of self-efficacy. The next section discusses main sources of self-efficacy.