self-efficacy

Meaning: Self-efficacy is a person's belief in their own ability to carry out the actions needed to reach a goal in a particular situation. It comes from Bandura's social cognitive theory. Beliefs are built from mastery experiences (past success), vicarious experience (watching similar others succeed), verbal persuasion, and physiological or emotional state. Higher self-efficacy tends to predict more effort, more persistence after setbacks, and willingness to attempt hard tasks.

On the MCAT: A passage gives an intervention, such as training or feedback, and asks which group should report more confidence, effort, or persistence. A question stem may describe a scenario and ask which source of self-efficacy it shows, such as a student gaining confidence by watching a peer succeed (vicarious experience). It also appears in health behavior, such as confidence in quitting smoking.

Common confusion: Self-efficacy is not self-esteem. Self-esteem is overall sense of worth; self-efficacy is confidence about a specific task, so someone can rate high in math and low in public speaking. It is also distinct from locus of control: an internal locus is the belief that outcomes depend on your actions, while self-efficacy is the belief that you can perform those actions.