Social Cognitive Theory
Bandura, A. · 1977
也被称为: SCT · Self-Efficacy Theory
Social Cognitive Theory, anchored by the concept of self-efficacy, proposes that human functioning is the product of reciprocal interactions among personal factors (cognition, affect, biology), behavior, and environmental influences (triadic reciprocal determinism). Self-efficacy -- the belief in one's capability to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific outcomes -- is the central mechanism of human agency, shaped by four sources: mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological/emotional states. Meta-analyses consistently show self-efficacy correlates strongly with performance (weighted r = .38 in work contexts) and is one of the strongest predictors of academic achievement and health behavior change.
Theory positing that self-efficacy — the belief in one's capability to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific outcomes — is the central mechanism of human agency. Generalized self-efficacy reflects a broad, stable sense of personal competence across domains.
- 来源:
- Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215.
参加基于此理论的经过验证的测试
阅读关於某个构念的资料能让您了解它是什麼,而经验证的测验工具则能让您了解自己在其中的位置。免费作答,幾分鐘內即可獲得结果。
证据概览
- 实证支持
- 强证据支持
- 重复验证
- 已充分重复验证
- 跨文化性
- 大致具普遍性
- 綜合分析(统合分析)
- 已收录 50 项
这些评等总结了关於该理論已发表的文獻,而非以此理論建构的任何单一测验的品质。它们是根据下方所列来源所作的編輯判斷,並會隨著证据累积而變化。
历史背景
Bandura introduced self-efficacy as a unifying construct in his 1977 Psychological Review article 'Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change,' building on his earlier social learning theory and the famous Bobo doll experiments of the 1960s. The broader Social Cognitive Theory was formally articulated in 1986 with 'Social Foundations of Thought and Action,' which expanded beyond observational learning to encompass self-regulation, forethought, and self-reflective capabilities as core features of human agency. Bandura's 1997 book 'Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control' provided the most comprehensive treatment of self-efficacy theory, consolidating two decades of research across clinical, educational, and organizational domains.
构念
Generalized Self-Efficacy
A broad and stable sense of personal competence to cope effectively with a variety of stressful or novel demands, rooted in Bandura's (1977, 1997) social cognitive theory. As operationalized by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995), generalized self-efficacy extends beyond task-specific beliefs to capture the optimistic self-belief that one can handle unforeseen challenges, recover from setbacks, and persist in the face of adversity across diverse life domains.
工具
- NOESIS General Self-Efficacy ScaleNOESIS2026
基于此理论的测试
实际应用
In clinical psychology, self-efficacy interventions are central to cognitive-behavioral therapies for phobias, addiction recovery, and chronic disease management, where building mastery experiences and modeling are used to strengthen patients' beliefs in their coping abilities. In education, SCT informs instructional design through modeling, guided mastery, and self-regulated learning strategies that enhance student self-efficacy and academic performance. In organizations, SCT underpins training programs, leadership development, and goal-setting interventions, with the General Self-Efficacy Scale validated in over 25 countries and 30 languages for cross-cultural assessment.
如何测量
Self-efficacy is typically measured using domain-specific scales (e.g., academic self-efficacy, health self-efficacy) rather than general measures, following Bandura's recommendation that self-efficacy beliefs are task-specific. The General Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) is the most widely used general measure, validated in 25+ countries.
批评与局限
A central criticism is that the distinction between self-efficacy expectations and outcome expectations is not always clearly differentiated, creating conceptual ambiguity in the theory's core constructs. Critics argue that SCT's breadth and complexity -- encompassing self-efficacy, outcome expectations, self-regulation, environmental factors, and triadic reciprocal determinism -- make it difficult to operationalize precisely and test as a unified theory, with most empirical research focusing narrowly on self-efficacy alone. Some researchers also note that SCT may underemphasize genetic, neurobiological, and structural/systemic barriers that constrain behavior regardless of personal efficacy beliefs, and that many foundational studies examined only short-term rather than long-term behavioral effects.
重要文献
- Bandura, A.. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. 10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
- Bandura, A.. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory.
- Bandura, A.. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control.
- Bandura, A.. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1
- Stajkovic, A. D. & Luthans, F.. (1998). Self-Efficacy and Work-Related Performance: A Meta-Analysis. 10.1037/0033-2909.124.2.240