Assessing the Influence of a Self-Efficacy Intervention on Students' Motivation andPerformance

Self-efficacy, defined as one's belief in the capacity to perform some action, is generally assumed to be positively related to motivation and performance. However, the majority of research on self-efficacy has used passive observational designs, preventing researchers from making causal claims about the role of self-efficacy. In addition, there have been relatively few studies examining self-efficacy as an intervention. For the few exceptions, the interventions are often confounded with training or include other issues that limit internal, construct, and external validity. In the current study, a self-efficacy intervention independent of training was tested in a classroom setting. In addition to testing the intervention, individuals' self-efficacy, goals, motivation and performance were tracked throughout the semester. It was predicted that individuals who have their self-efficacy inflated would plan to study less because they believe they have high capacity, but will perform worse on the exam. However, the self-efficacy intervention was not effective. Across the exams at the within-person level, self-efficacy was unrelated to planned study time and exam performance. However, at the between-person level, only an indirect effect of self-efficacy on exam performance was found.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Grantor dc:publisher

Ohio University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Weinhardt, Justin M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Vancouver, Jeff

• Psychology
• Self-Efficacy
• Motivation
• Goals
• Self-Regulation

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1363259898

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:ohiou1363259898