This study explored the sources of information that students employ in appraising their mathematics self-efficacy. Responding to a thought-listing questionnaire, 103 college students cited personal performance experiences (e.g., past successes) as the most common, and most influential, basis for their efficacy beliefs. Other theory- derived efficacy sources (e.g., vicarious learning) were mentioned much less often. Several response categories emerged, such as interest and effort considerations, that may reflect the heuristics that students enlist to estimate their academic capabilities under varying motivational or contextual conditions. Few gender differences appeared in the efficacy source listings, though women tended to cite physiological reactions and teaching quality considerations more often than did men. These findings offer a methodological complement to research using more traditional, psychometric measures of the sources of self-efficacy. Implications for research, as well as for educational and career interventions, are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
2.
Betz, N.E. (1978). Prevalence, distribution, and correlates of math anxiety in college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology , 25, 441-448.
3.
Betz, N.E. (1992). Career assessment: A review of critical issues . In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (2nd ed., pp. 453-484). New York: Wiley.
4.
Betz, N.E., & Hackett, G. (1983). The relationship of mathematics self-efficacy expectations to the selection of science-based college majors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 23, 329-345.
5.
Borgen, F.H. (1992). Expanding scientific paradigms in counseling psychology . In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (2nd ed., pp. 111-139). New York: Wiley.
6.
Cacioppo, J.T., & Petty, R.E. (1981). Social psychological procedures for cognitive response assessment: The thought-listing technique. In T. V. Merluzzi, C. R. Glass, & M. Genest (Eds.), Cognitive assessment. New York: Guilford.
7.
Campbell, N.K., & Hackett, G. (1986). The effects of mathematics task performance on math self-efficacy and task interest. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 28, 149-162.
8.
Cohen, J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales . Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20, 37-46.
9.
Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
10.
Crutcher, R.J. (1994). Telling what we know: The use of verbal report methodologies in psychological research. Psychological Science , 5, 241-244.
11.
Eden, D., & Kinnar, J. (1991). Modeling Galatea: Boosting self-efficacy to increase volunteering. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 770-780.
12.
Frayne, C.A., & Latham, G.P. (1987). Application of social learning theory to employee self-management of attendance. Journal of Applied Psychology , 72, 387-392.
13.
Genest, M., & Turk, D.C. (1981). Think-aloud approaches to cognitive assessment . In T. V. Merluzzi, C. R. Glass, & M. Genest (Eds.), Cognitive assessment (pp. 233-269). New York: Guilford.
14.
Goldman, R.D., & Hewitt, B.N. (1976). The scholastic aptitude test "explains" why college men major in science more often than college women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 23, 50-54.
15.
Hackett, G. (1985). Role of mathematics self-efficacy in the choice of math-related majors of college women and men: A path analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 32, 47-56.
16.
Hackett, G., & Betz, N.E. (1981). A self-efficacy approach to the career development of women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 18, 326-339.
17.
Hackett, G., Betz, N.E., O'Halloran, M.S., & Romac, D.S. (1990). Effects of verbal and mathematics task performance on task and career self-efficacy and interest. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 37, 169-177.
18.
Hackett, G., & Lent, R.W. (1992). Theoretical advances and current inquiry in career psychology. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (2nd ed., pp. 419-451). New York: Wiley.
19.
Hill, C.E., & Corbett, M.M. (1993). A perspective on the history of process and outcome research in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology , 40, 3-24.
20.
Hoshmand, L.T. (1989). Alternate research paradigms: A review and teaching proposal. The Counseling Psychologist, 17, 3-79.
21.
Kimball, M.M. (1989). A new perspective on women's math achievement . Psychological Bulletin, 105, 198-214.
22.
Lapan, R.T., Boggs, K.R., & Morrill, W.H. (1989). Self-efficacy as a mediator of investigative and realistic general occupational themes on the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory . Journal of Counseling Psychology, 36, 176-182.
23.
Lapan, R.T., Boggs, K.R., & Shaughnessy, P. (1993, August). Longitudinal study of the choice of a math/science college major. Poster session presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association , Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
24.
Lent, R.W., Brown, S.D., & Hackett, G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance [Monograph]. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79-122.
25.
Lent, R.W., Lopez, F.G., & Bieschke, K.J. (1991). Mathematics self-efficacy: Sources and relation to science-based career choice. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38, 424-430.
26.
Lent, R.W., Lopez, F.G., & Bieschke, K.J. (1993). Predicting mathematics-related choice and success behaviors: Test of an expanded social cognitive model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 42, 223-236.
27.
Lent, R.W., Lopez, F.G., Brown, S.D., & Gore, P.A. (in press). Latent structure of the sources of mathematics self-efficacy . Journal of Vocational Behavior.
28.
Lopez, F.G., & Lent, R.W. (1992). Sources of mathematics self-efficacy in high school students. Career Development Quarterly, 41, 3-12.
29.
Matsui, T., Matsui, K., & Ohnishi, R. (1990). Mechanisms underlying math self-efficacy learning of college students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 37, 225-238.
30.
Merluzzi, T.V. (1993). Cognitive assessment: Clinical applications of self-statement assessment. Journal of Counseling and Development , 71, 539-545.
31.
Multon, K.D., Brown, S.D., & Lent, R.W. (1991). Relation of self-efficacy beliefs to academic outcomes: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38, 30-38.
32.
Nisbett, R.E., & Wilson, T.D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84, 231-259.
33.
Payne, J.W. (1994). Thinking aloud: Insights into information processing . Psychological Science, 5, 241-248.
34.
Sadri, G., & Robertson, I.T. (1993). Self-efficacy and work-related behaviour: A review and meta-analysis. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 42, 139-152.
