[From Jeff Vancouver (2001.08.01 13:35 EST)]
CSG conference followup:
For those at this year's CSG conference, you might have noticed an exchange
between Bill P. and me regarding something I said he said. I was relatively
flip in my answer, which I want to address more substantially.
Specifically, the issue was about self-efficacy and a comment Bill made to
A. Bandura in the American Psychologist. What I paraphrased that he said in
my talk was the following:
The Paradox:
Powers argued that when individuals have high self-efficacy (as compared to
when they have low self-efficacy) they may:
have overly optimistic assessments of the degree to which they are meeting
their goals
hence, lower discrepancies,
hence, apply fewer resources to meeting goals.
Hence, self-efficacy would negative relate to subsequent performance.
This was the phrasing that Bill objected to. What I said in response is
that it was too late, as the paper was already in press that represented the
study that was the topic of the presentation (it should be out this month
actually). I also knew that I had not exactly represented him in the
presentation and had tried to be more careful in the published manuscript
(also I had more time to get the point across). Below is what I said Bill
said. As you can see, I was careful to quote him. I would be interested in
knowing if Bill thought the quotes were out of context or my rewording
(following each quote) is a great distortion of the meaning of the quote.
"The paradox relates to the role of expectations or self-efficacy beliefs,
goal levels and performance, and was revealed in a debate between Powers
(1991) and Bandura (1989). Specifically, Powers argued that Bandura
described several variations of self-efficacy beliefs. One variation is the
�belief that one is justified in setting high goals [that, because
discrepancies from goals drives behavior] would lead to an increase of
effort and, if the effort were successful, an increase of the perceived and
actual effectiveness of action� (Powers, 1991, p. 152). In other words,
self-efficacy beliefs promote the adoption of high standards and the high
standards result in higher performance if the person actually has the
capacity to perform at that level. However, another variation is the belief
�about one�s actual effectiveness in achieving a given goal� (Powers, 1991,
p. 152). Powers argued �a belief that works by increasing the optimism in
perceptions � by representing the same actual consequences of behavior more
favorably � reduces the apparent shortfall that is driving behavior, and so
decreases behavior� (p. 152). That is, when individuals believe that they
are meeting their goals, they are less likely to allocate resources (i.e.,
time and effort) toward those goals as compared to when they believe they
are not meeting their goals. "
I am leaving for another week, so if I do not respond to responses to this
post, it is because I am not around. No other meaning should be inferred.
Later,
Jeff