In-class Assigned Task - Week 1 - Present brief summary of research interest

My primary research focus will be on self-efficacy, the sources of self-efficacy beliefs, and the effects of self-efficacy beliefs. In particular, for the qualitative project, I will be exploring the ways in which self-efficacy beliefs effect perceived career options, taking into consideration demographic differences such as gender, socio-economic status, and race/ethnicity. Bandura (1986, 1997) argued that self-efficacy beliefs constitute the principal factor of human agency, and are also strong predictors of the level of accomplishment that individuals ultimately achieve. Additionally, Pajares (1997) highlighted that high self-efficacy helps individuals feel calm when approaching challenging tasks, while low self-efficacy may cause individuals to believe that tasks are more challenging than they really are.

In general, qualitative research on self-efficacy has yielded consistent findings: (1) self-efficacy is predictive; (2) self-efficacy has a causal relationship with other variables; and (3) gender differences are highly influential (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). Brown and Lent (1996) also found that individuals tend to eliminate possible careers or occupations based on their self-efficacy beliefs and/or outcome expectations. Essentially, the greater the perceived barriers to a career or occupation, the less likely individuals will pursue those careers (Lent et al., 1994). Hence, it follows that adjusting or modifying an individual's self-efficacy or outcome expectations may help the individual to have a higher chance of success and expose him or her to more career options.

More research findings, particularly the theoretical process linking self-efficacy beliefs and perceived career options, will be elaborated upon in subsequent blog posts. 

References

Bandura, A. (1986), Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control, Worth Publishers, New York, NY.

Brown, S., & Lent, R. (1996), "A social cognitive framework for career choice counseling", The Career Development Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 4: pp. 355–367.

Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (1994), "Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance", Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 45, No. 1: pp. 79–122.

Pajares, F. (1997), "Current directions in self-efficacy research", Advances in Motivation and Achievement, Vol. 10, No. 1: pp. 1–49.