An Agentic Perspective On Positive Psychology

Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to organize and execute the actions necessary to manage a situation ("What Is Self-Efficacy?", n.d.). Self-efficacy allows divergent thinking because cognitive limits are not set in place.

Bandura has studied self-efficacy, which is the extent or strength of one’s belief in one’s own ability to complete tasks and reach goals. Self-efficacy can affect all types of behaviors like academics, social and recreational. A child might have the ability to accomplish a task, but if they do not feel like they are capable of doing so, then they may fail or may not attempt the task. For example, in a study difficult math problems were given to children with

The theory used in this study will be self-efficacy theory part of the social cognitive theory as conceived by Albert Bandura. Albert Bandura was born in Canada in 1925. Growing up in a town with only one school, he and his fellow students often had to take charge of their education (Pajares, 2004). This early experience influenced Bandura later in studying motivation and human behavior. After high school, Bandura went to the University of British Columbia where he decided to concentrate on psychology. Bandura’s beliefs in self-development sent him onward to the University of Iowa to continue his studies. Bandura earned his M.A. degree in 1951 and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1952. Later, Bandura joined the faculty at Stanford University where he made his career. Bandura’s research at Stanford focused on social modeling in human motivation. Here he began a program of research on children’s development of self-regulatory capabilities. In 1977, Bandura published Social Learning Theory, a book that changed the direction of psychology throughout the next decade (Pajares, 2004). Bandura later developed the social cognitive theory of human functioning. Social cognitive theory described people as proactive, self-organizing, reflective, and regulating individuals, not simply beings shaped by reactions.

Albert Bandura introduced the Self-Efficacy Theory in the late 1970s. Self-Efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to perform actions to complete a task or goal attainment. It has been applied to many areas such as smoking cessation, eating, and pain control. It can also be applied to childhood asthma to share insight on the child’s belief. Believing in oneself and the ability to manage their own care is a very important aspect of self-care.

Bandura focused on perceived self-efficacy, which he defines as a belief in one’s own capability to organize and execute the course of action required to attain a goal. (Bandura, 1977).

In this chapter, Rivera outlines and describes three existing theories: Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy, Vygotsky’s Constructivist Theory, and Social Interdependence Theory. She also refers to multiple sources and explains their opinions about these theories. She goes one step further to clarify how these theories directly correlate with her research topic.

Virtually all people can identify goals they want to accomplish, things they would like to change, and things they would like to achieve. However, most people also realize that putting these plans into action is not quite so simple. Bandura and others have found that an individual’s self-efficacy plays a major role in how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached.

The concept of interest is self-efficacy. This began in 1977 with Bandura’s social learning theory that was renamed social cognitive theory in 1986, of which self-efficacy was one of the major concepts of his theory. Self-efficacy makes a difference in how people will feel, think, behave, and motivate themselves. A low sense of self-efficacy can be associated with stress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of helplessness. Such individuals also have low self-esteem and become pessimistic about their accomplishments and personal development. In thinking terms, a strong sense of efficacy facilitates cognitive processes and performance in a variety of settings, including the quality of decision-making and academic achievement. When it comes to behavior, self-efficacy can be said to influence people’s choice of activities as self-efficacy levels can foster or decrease a person’s motivation. People with high self-efficacy approach difficult tasks as challenges and do not try to avoid them. People’s self-efficacy beliefs determine their level of motivation, as reflected in how much effort they will

Emotions are power. When it comes to feelings and emotions, there can often be disparity between how one feels and how something truly is. As the author of the article titled, “Invisible: Why Do People Feel Invisible?” Oliver Cooper writes, “One can feel that they are invisible to the world. And this is regardless of their physical impact on life, the experience for not being noticed exists.” Our self-image plays an essential role in what we achieve in life and how. There have been multiple investigations regarding the correlation between having high self-efficacy and being successful. Famous behavioral psychologist, Albert Bandura, was quoted, “Perceived self-efficacy is defined as people 's beliefs about their capabilities to produce

Researchers theorize the use of positive psychology in the treatment of cancer patients can diminish or eliminate depression. Researchers determined a structured positive psychotherapy program, designed to address the psychological challenges that cancer patients traverse. Breast cancer patients are taxed with medical, physical, emotional, and psychological stresses, that consume their lives. The natural instinct to survive allows patients to override the emotional and psychological fallout of the disease and focus on the eliminating the physical attack of the cancer, with medical interventions. This time proves to be chaotic, overwhelming and stressful; with patients inundated with fear, medical jargon, choices,

Self-efficacy is one’s belief in their ability to complete a task. While it may seem simple, it is an essential element

Another relevant theory in this area is the “theory of planned behavior” (TPB), developed by Ajzen and Fishbein (1980). TPB states that intention is the proximal determinant of behavior and is determined by three constructs: attitude (viewed as a positive or negative evaluation towards performing a behavior); subjective norm (which is the perception of the beliefs of important others); perceived behavioral control (which describes one’s perception of the amount of control they have in performing the behavior) (France, France, & Himawan, 2007; Giles, McClenahan, Cairns, & Mallet, 2004). It is of note that while perceived behavioral control has often been equated with Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy many have argued that the constructs are not equal, since self-efficacy is more concerned with cognitive perceptions of control based on internal control factors (Ajzen, 1991; Armitage & Conner, 2001; Giles & Cairns, 1995).

This research is reinforced by Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977; as cited in Redmond, 2010) which states that self-efficacy or a person’s belief in one’s ability to succeed in a particular situation plays an essential role in how goals, tasks, and challenges are approached. It continues to evolve as people acquire new skills, experiences, and understanding. It can have an impact on everything from psychological states to behavior to motivation. Bandura believed that the key to successful therapy is self-efficacy. Bandura's theory proposed that learning can also occur by simply observing the actions of others (Ross, 2007). It was stated that people can learn new information and behaviors by watching other people which is known as observational learning. Underneath the social cognitive theory is the social learning theory. There are three core concepts at the heart of social learning theory. In this study, the researchers will only use the two concepts which

Bandura’s social cognitive theory hightlights the role of observational learning, social experience, and reciprocal determinism on learning (Cherry, 2005). Bandura believed that an individual 's behavior influences and is influenced by both the social world and personal characteristics. According to Cherry, (2005) the central concept of Bandura’s theory is the theory of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is belief in your own abilities to succeed. This not only plays a role in how you feel about yourself but how you learn and achieve your goals. Bandura believed that observational learning could not occur unless cognitive processes were at work.

Psychology as its commonly recognised is the science of the mind where its apparent focus is investigation and treatment for mental illness. Positive psychology on the other hand could be quickly specified as the brief opposite. To attempt to define positive psychology, one would ask themselves the metaphysical question of, what is positive in relation to being human and what makes it positive (Alex Linley, Joseph, Harrington & Wood, 2006). Examples could be emotions, virtues and traits such as hope, courage and compassion which can be interpreted in a manner of ways. These examples mentioned possibly carry a great deal of depth where for an example, an emotion can share properties of positive and negative parts that are linked together (Lazarus, 2003). Anger as a prime example of an emotion that can be hurtful and destructive, yet, it is possible to be utilised as a fuel to be righteous. Development of emotions and other human qualities could then be dependent on cultural values, socioeconomic status and the demographic of age. A study has resulted in possible evidence that adults may be less susceptible to change in emotions and other values when compared to teenagers, where a traumatic or life changing event may be a catalyst for change (Seligman, Steen, Park & Peterson, 2005). This was a study in the realm of positive psychology, where its lack of focus and aim on the apparent negative side of psychology is not present. Research in mental illness and treatment are