A brief exploration of the self- efficacy concept and its implication in the recovery process.

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Efficacy Beliefs and Their Role in Addiction Treatment Services:

A brief exploration of the self- efficacy concept and its implication in the recovery process.

Kelley Dundas-Wolfenden

SSW 441/W. Skinner

May 18, 2001

Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................... 3

i. Overview........................................................................... 3

Developmental Aspects of Self-Efficacy.........................................................4

Self-Efficacy, Stress and Health...................................................................5

Self-Efficacy and Addictive Processes...........................................................7

Conclusions....................................................................................... .....9

Bibliography.........................................................................................10

The development of the self occurs in a social context that varies from culture to culture. The degree to which the individual self succeeds in its various roles and tasks, or in its overall purpose, and which Maslow referred to as self-actualization (1972) is determined by a variety of social influences upon the individual which serve to establish distinct areas of effectiveness and focus. Mead describes the self as a process, not a thing (Mead, 1934). The process of "becoming" is described by Mead as dependent, to a significant extent, upon motivating factors affected by personal beliefs in one's ability to learn and perform the skills required for a variety of necessary functions. So too, is the ability to prevent negative outcomes from occurring to the individual. The beliefs in one's ability to perform tasks and to control outcomes important to daily functioning serve to provide a sense of predictability while decreasing anxiety. Beliefs influence actions, feelings, and thoughts and they permeate choice-making processes.

Overview

Albert Bandura is a psychologist of tremendous influence whose work in social learning theory places him in the company of Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget, B.F. Skinner, and Carl Rogers (Bandura's Biography, 1997). As an extension of his research into the cognitive processes involved with learning, Bandura addressed the perception that an individual experiences regarding his/her self-efficacy to handle situations in specific domains. He defined four main influences upon the development of efficacy (control beliefs): mastery experiences (personal successes, the most authentic and powerful means), vicarious experiences (provided by observing social models), social persuasion (positive verbal appraisals offered by others), and self-feedback based on physiological and emotional states (Bandura, 1986). These beliefs affect human functioning through four general areas of mental processing including cognitive processes, which determine visualization of goal-directed behavior and are generated and organized by appraisal of ones ability. Planning occurs as thought, and a resilient sense of efficacy maintains the thought processes by which perseverance in difficult tasks occurs.

Motivational processes are also thoughtful in nature, and Bandura defines three types of cognitive motivators: causal attributions, outcome expectancies, and cognized goals (Bandura, 1986). Efficacy beliefs influence goal choices, efforts expended, and resiliency to setbacks. Affective processes are also strongly affected by efficacy beliefs. Anxiety/confidence, depression/resilience, unfulfilled aspiration/self-actualization are examples of contrasting effects of low and high senses of efficacy. Selection processes, by which the individual determines the types of environments to be involved in and activities to pursue, can affect ones life course based on his/her perceptions of what is safe, attainable, challenging, or rewarding.

Thus does self-efficacy influence behavioral choices, goal setting, performance of effort toward goals, and persistence of effort in the face of difficulty. While efficacy is important in all these areas critical to achievement and self-actualization, it is also experienced at levels specific to individual experiential domains. Bandura views the concept of ability as one that is not a fixed attribute or trait in one's repertoire, but rather, as a generative capability in which cognitive, motivational, emotional and behavioral skills must be organized and effectively orchestrated to serve diverse purposes. A person with a strong sense of his or her own efficacy for a type of behavior will tend to set higher goals and stick with them through greater difficulties and will more readily accept challenges to perform without feeling threatened. The individual will also more readily recover from failures, which tend to be perceived as indicating a need for greater effort on their part; and will be less vulnerable to stress and depression, which Bandura attributes to low estimations of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977).
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Developmental Aspects of Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy exists as one of a type of beliefs known as control beliefs. Flammer (1995) defines them as self-consciously knowing that one is able to act in such a way that certain effects are produced. He describes the evolution of these general beliefs in five developmental levels. Level one, event schema, consists of the first perceived life events to be impacted by activities of the self, such as sucking or moving of the head. Level two, causal schema, begins normally around six months, and involves a noticeable development of interest in secondary effects ...

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