Verbal Persuasion Research Articles

Sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations for career exploration and decision-making: A test of the social cognitive model of career self-management

In an application of the social cognitive model of career self-management (Lent & Brown, 2013), we assessed the primary experiential sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations relative to career exploration and decision-making activities. These sources included personal mastery, verbal persuasion, vicarious learning, and affect (both positive and negative) experienced in relation to career exploration and decision-making. Participants were 324 college students, who completed an experiential sources measure along with domain-correspondent measures of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, goals, and level of career decidedness. A confirmatory factor analysis offered support for a 5-factor representation of the experiential sources, though the personal mastery and verbal persuasion sources were substantially interrelated. As a set, the source variables accounted for a larger portion of the variance in self-efficacy than outcome expectations, with much of their relation to outcome expectations being mediated by self-efficacy. Good support was also found for a path model including the source variables in the prediction of career exploration goals and level of career decidedness. Though the sources were generally linked to goals indirectly, mastery and positive affect both produced significant direct paths to level of decidedness. The findings are interpreted in light of social cognitive career theory and their implications for further research and practice are discussed.

Iranian EFL teachers' reflective practices and self-efficacy: Exploring possible relationships

Although reflective practice has been promoted as a means to enhance teaching, there is little empirical evidence to demonstrate its influence on improving teaching quality. To address this significant gap, the present study examines the relationship between EFL teachers' reflective practices and self-efficacy. Research has demonstrated the positive impact of self-efficacy on various dimensions of teachers' practices. It was thus assumed that understanding how self-efficacy can change in L2 teachers as a result of their reflective practices can shed light on the role of reflection in improving teachers' performance. Data were collected from 102 Iranian EFL teachers through a survey and follow-up interviews. The results of correlational analysis showed that, save for critical reflection, all the other reflection subscales had significant positive relationships with teachers' self-efficacy. The results of multiple regression also revealed that metacognitive reflection was the only predictor of teachers' self-efficacy. Analysis of the interview data, on the other hand, indicated how reflection subscales contribute to teachers' self-efficacy through one of the four main sources, namely mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological/emotional arousal. In line with these findings, a list of best reflective practices that are conducive to improving EFL teachers’ self-efficacy is suggested.

Primary School Teacher’s Self-Efficacy in Handling School Bullying: A Case Study

Evidence from a number of studies suggest that teachers are not very effective when they address or deal with cases of bullying in schools, unaware, unwilling to stop bullying, and do not effectively respond to bullying. It is a responsibility of a teacher to deal with any bullying case in school, hence, it is not fair to judge or perceive a teacher as less effective or less efficacious because the development of teachers' self-efficacy in this matter could be influenced by some variables that serve as sources of efficacy among teachers.The purposes of this study were to determine the level of teachers' self-efficacy (behavioural, cognitive, emotional) in dealing with bullying among students in rural primary school and to determine the sources of influence (mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, physiological arousal) that are significant predictors for each subscale of teachers' self-efficacy (behavioural, cognitive, emotional) in dealing with bullying among students in rural primary school.There were 992 in-service rural primary school teachers in Sarawak involved in this study. The overall mean scores for level of teacher self-efficacy (Behavioural, Cognitive, and Emotional) in handling school bullying in rural primary schools in this studywas at moderate level.Based on the findings of this study, Verbal Persuasion and Physiological Arousal had significantly predicted Behavioral Self-efficacy, Cognitive Self-efficacy and Emotional Self-efficacy in handling bullying school bullying.

Parenting self-efficacy beliefs in parents of children with autism: Perspectives from Singapore.

Substantial empirical evidence has highlighted the psychological stress and negative well-being of parents whose children are diagnosed with autism. It has further indicated a need for understanding the mechanisms through which these parents come to successfully meet the challenges of caregiving for these children whose condition are often characterized by persistent behavioral, social, and communication problems. This qualitative study aims to bridge the research gap in 3 ways. First, we sought to understand the ways in which mothers of children having autism foster their parenting self-efficacy (PSE) when caring for their child. Second, we sought to identify additional PSE sources. Third, we attempted to understand how these mothers successfully manage negative experiences that were often in the way of their parenting efforts. Ten mothers with children between 7 and 9 years of age were interviewed. Bandura's social-cognitive framework guided the analyses of the sources of PSE (Bandura, 1997). Mastery experiences were identified as the most critical PSE source, and the physiological and affective states of the mothers were second most important in shaping their PSE. Vicarious experiences and verbal persuasion did not emerge as salient sources. "Support in parenting" was also found to be significant in fostering the mothers' perceived capability. Furthermore, we noted that while multiple negative experiences were encountered, these mothers tended to frame their experiences in adaptive ways to allow them to use these as feedback for subsequent parenting endeavors to booster their perceived capability. Implications for future research were discussed in the light of these findings. (PsycINFO Database Record

Self-efficacy theory applied to undergraduate biomechanics instruction

Undergraduates are usually required to complete one or more biomechanics courses in a movement science curriculum. Students often avoid taking this course, perhaps because they have a reduced perception of success due to low self-efficacy with the perceived content, particularly related to mathematics. Student learning may be increased through the self-efficacy theory constructs of performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. Within these, instructors may enhance student learning by: increasing students’ perception of the content's application, reducing the use of technical equipment, utilizing modern presentation technologies, and emphasizing qualitative understanding. This paper will detail each of these.

Sources of self-efficacy in academic contexts: A longitudinal perspective.

The formation of self-efficacy, according to Bandura's (1997) social-cognitive theory, is an important area of inquiry. This theoretical tenet posits the importance of enactive learning experience, followed by lesser influences of vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and emotional and physiological states. Quantitative research, predominantly, has produced clear and consistent evidence that supports this position. We argue that the elementary school years may indicate differently, whereby children's limited cognitive maturity and learning experiences could compel them to rely on other psychosocial informational sources. To date and to our knowledge, very few studies, if any, have explored the sustained influence of enactive learning experience across time. In this study, consequently, we tested a sequential predictive model that involved the differential influences of the 4 major informational sources on self-efficacy and then self-efficacy on academic achievement. Three time points of data (N = 328, Year 6) were collected across the calendar year, and Mplus 7.3 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2012) was used to assist us in our structural modeling testing. At Time 1, only enactive learning experience and vicarious experience positively influenced self-efficacy. At Time 2, after controlling for prior variance of Time 1 corresponding factors, only enactive learning experience remained significant. At Time 3, after controlling for autoregressive paths, enactive learning experience remained significant, and both verbal persuasion and emotional and physiological states positively influenced self-efficacy. The impact of self-efficacy on academic achievement was significant across the 3 occasions (βs = .20-.46). (PsycINFO Database Record

Adolescent’s Self-Efficacy for Early Marriage in South Bangka Regency, Indonesia

The percentage of married women under the age of 20 years at 13% with a median age of 20.1 years and the median marriage age of first marriage in the rural lower at 19.7. Pregnancy at a very young age correlated with maternal mortality and morbidity. Girls aged 10-14 are five times the risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth compared to the age group of 20-24 years, while the risk is doubled in the age group of 15-19 years. This study aimed to analyze several variables that affect the self-forming efficacy of early marriages. The research was explanatory research with cross sectional design. The sample size was 241. Data analysis was performed using correlation analysis Somers. There were very weak positive correlation for Verbal Persuasion (r=0.013), very weak negative correlation for Vicarious Experience (r=-0026) and Emotional Arousal (r=-0075), weak negative correlation between Mastery Experience factor (r=-0035) with early marriage.

Adolescent’s Self-Efficacy for Early Marriage in South Bangka Regency, Indonesia

The percentage of married women under the age of 20 years at 13% with a median age of 20.1 years and the median marriage age of first marriage in the rural lower at 19.7. Pregnancy at a very young age correlated with maternal mortality and morbidity. Girls aged 10-14 are five times the risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth compared to the age group of 20-24 years, while the risk is doubled in the age group of 15-19 years. This study aimed to analyze several variables that affect the self-forming efficacy of early marriages. The research was explanatory research with cross sectional design. The sample size was 241. Data analysis was performed using correlation analysis Somers. There were very weak positive correlation for Verbal Persuasion (r=0.013), very weak negative correlation for Vicarious Experience (r=-0026) and Emotional Arousal (r=-0075), weak negative correlation between Mastery Experience factor (r=-0035) with early marriage.

Why Do I Feel More Confident? Bandura's Sources Predict Preservice Teachers' Latent Changes in Teacher Self-Efficacy.

Teacher self-efficacy (TSE) is associated with a multitude of positive outcomes for teachers and students. However, the development of TSE is an under-researched area. Bandura (1997) proposed four sources of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological and affective states. This study introduces a first instrument to assess the four sources for TSE in line with Bandura's conception. Gathering evidence of convergent validity, the contribution that each source made to the development of TSE during a practicum at a school was explored for two samples of German preservice teachers. The first sample (N = 359) were beginning preservice teachers who completed an observation practicum. The second sample (N = 395) were advanced preservice teachers who completed a teaching practicum. The source measure showed good reliability, construct validity, and convergent validity. Latent true change modeling was applied to explore how the sources predicted changes in TSE. Three different models were compared. As expected, results showed that TSE changes in both groups were significantly predicted by mastery experiences, with a stronger relationship in the advanced group. Further, the results indicated that mastery experiences were largely informed by the other three sources to varying degrees depending on the type of practicum. Implications for the practice of teacher education are discussed in light of the results.

An Examination of the Applicability of Social Cognitive Career Theory for African American College Students

The purpose of the present study is to extend the literature on social cognitive career theory (SCCT) by examining (a) the applicability of SCCT for African Americans with constructs defined in terms of Holland’s realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional (RIASEC) themes and (b) the role of specific learning experiences (performance accomplishments, vicarious learning, and verbal persuasion) in the formation of corresponding self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results based on a sample of 208 African American college students revealed support for hypothesized relations of self-efficacy with outcome expectations, self-efficacy and outcome expectations with interests and choice goals, and interests with choice goals for all six RIASEC themes. Results revealed partial support for the hypothesized relations of learning experiences with self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Finally, results indicated limited support for the hypothesis that verbal persuasion would be a stronger positive predictor of self-efficacy and outcome expectations than would performance accomplishments and vicarious learning. These findings offer preliminary support for the applicability of SCCT in explaining African American college students’ RIASEC-based interest development and career choice goals. Implications of the findings for career counseling interventions and future research are discussed.

First-Generation College Students’ Persistence Intentions in Engineering Majors

This study examined the relationship between parental support, engineering-related (realistic/investigative themed) learning experiences, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and persistence intentions in a sample of first-generation college student (FGCS) engineering majors ( N = 130). Parental support was assessed at the conclusion of an academic year and modeled as a predictor of other engineering-related variables assessed a year later using the social cognitive career theory framework. Results showed that parental support predicted realistic/investigative-themed verbal persuasion and vicarious learning, while realistic/investigative-themed performance accomplishments and physiological arousal predicted engineering self-efficacy. Realistic/investigative performance accomplishments also predicted outcome expectations. Self-efficacy and outcome expectations were predictors of engineering persistence intentions. Contrary to expectations, self-efficacy did not significantly predict outcome expectations. Mediation analyses revealed that the relationships of realistic/investigative-themed performance accomplishments and physiological arousal to persistence intentions were explained by self-efficacy. Results are discussed in terms of increasing retention of FGCS in engineering.

Sources of Self-Efficacy in Teachers

Teacher's self-efficacy is the judgment that teachers make about their own ability and skills in teaching, even in unfavorable conditions. A teacher's sense of efficacy can be influenced by four sources of information: mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal or social persuasion, and emotional and physiological factors. This study aims to characterize basic education teachers, considering the indexes of the self-efficacy sources, sociodemographic aspects (like age, sex and education level of teachers), and teaching activity (working time and period of time). A total of 495 basic education teachers, who work in a private confessional network of schools in the states of Pará, Maranhão and Amapá (Brazil) participated in this study, from January to July 2014. As data collection, researchers used the Participant Characterization Survey (Questionário de Caracterização do Participante) and the Teacher Self-Efficacy Sources Scale (Escala de Fontes de Autoeficácia de Docentes). The statistical techniques used were factorial analysis and correspondence analysis. The results indicated that there was a significant association among the four sources of self-efficacy. There was a correlation between verbal persuasion and length of service and function. From the sociodemographic characteristics investigated, only age has been correlated to emotional and physiological factors. There was no association between age and the others sources.

A qualitative inquiry on sources of teacher efficacy in teaching low-achieving students

ABSTRACTDeveloping a high level of efficacy can be challenging to teachers who work with low-achieving students. The authors adopted a pragmatic qualitative research design to investigate the sources of efficacy information reported by five high-efficacy teachers and four low-efficacy teachers of secondary low-achieving students in Singapore. The results show that the psychological sources of information postulated by Albert Bandura (i.e., mastery experiences, verbal persuasion, vicarious experience, and physiological and emotional arousal), are valid but insufficient to explain high teacher efficacy. Three additional nonpsychological sources of information, including teachers' knowledge about students, rapport with students, and previous working experiences, also played significant roles in the creation of high teacher efficacy.

Beyond performance metrics: Examining a decrease in students’ physics self-efficacy through a social networks lens

The Modeling Instruction (MI) approach to introductory physics manifests significant increases in student conceptual understanding and attitudes toward physics. In light of these findings, we investigated changes in student self-efficacy while considering the construct’s contribution to the career-decision making process. Students in the Fall 2014 and 2015 MI courses at Florida International University exhibited a decrease on each of the sources of self-efficacy and overall self-efficacy (N=147) as measured by the Sources of Self-Efficacy in Science Courses-Physics (SOSESC-P) survey. This held true regardless of student gender or ethnic group. Given the highly interactive nature of the MI course and the drops observed on the SOSESC-P, we chose to further explore students’ changes in self-efficacy as a function of three centrality measures (i.e., relational positions in the classroom social network): inDegree, outDegree, and PageRank. We collected social network data by periodically asking students to list the names of peers with whom they had meaningful interactions. While controlling for PRE scores on the SOSESC-P, bootstrapped linear regressions revealed post-self-efficacy scores to be predicted by PageRank centrality. When disaggregated by the sources of self-efficacy, PageRank centrality was shown to be directly related to students’ sense of mastery experiences. InDegree was associated with verbal persuasion experiences, and outDegree with both verbal persuasion and vicarious learning experiences. We posit that analysis of social networks in active learning classrooms helps to reveal nuances in self-efficacy development.Received 6 October 2015DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.12.020124This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasDiversity & inclusionEpistemology, attitudes, & beliefsLearning environmentProfessional TopicsLower undergraduate studentsPhysics Education Research

Improving the Perception of Self-Sufficiency towards Creative Drama

<p style="text-align:justify">The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a Creative Drama Based Perception of Self-sufficiency Skills Training Program on 2nd grade bachelor degree students’ (who are attending a preschool teacher training program) perception of self-sufficiency. This is a quasi-experimental study. Totally 50 students were equally divided into two groups as they are experimental group and control group. Experimental group has attended to 24 sessions of a course as creative drama based training program. The training program was performed by involve in four elements of Bandura’s self-sufficiency as they are; performance success, indirect experiences, verbal persuasion and emotional states. It has been prepared to promote students’ perception of self-sufficiency skills. Perception of Self-sufficiency Towards Using Creative Drama Technique (PSCDT) has been offered as pre-test and post-test to both groups in order to obtain the data. It has been found that there was significance on behalf of experimental group in the end of this study (p< ,05).</p>

Examining Theory-Based Behavior-Change Constructs, Social Interaction, and Sociability Features of the Weight Watchers’ Online Community

A multimethod approach was used here. First, a quantitative content analysis was conducted on 320 posts from 64 threads sampled from WeightWatchers.com's message boards between December 1, 2011, and January 31, 2012. The coding categories included constructs from the health belief model, the planned behavior theory, and the theory of self-efficacy. An acceptable level of intercoder reliability was reached; frequencies, cluster analysis, and t test were reported. Second, a conventional content analysis of the posts was conducted. The posts were examined for themes and patterns within the discussion. Finally, the researchers examined the sociability features of the message boards. The qualitative review followed established procedures and was conducted independently by four researchers. Mastery experience occurred in 46% of the posts. Threads focusing on physical activities contained more perceived barriers, mastery experiences, and verbal persuasion than other types of threads. Posts focusing on diet included unanswered questions about dieting practices with certain medical conditions. Posts focusing on mastery experience celebrated any small step toward success. Posts irrelevant to weight loss mostly contained events and happenings in members' lives. The sociability review revealed a lack of moderation. The Weight Watchers' online community included much discussion about weight loss. Findings suggest that physical activities require more encouragement than dieting. Health educators have an opportunity to interject and moderate meaningful discussions. For example, dieting with certain medical conditions, opinions on various diets, and the relationship between dieting and being healthy are opportunities to facilitate learning. Discussion posts irrelevant to weight loss help build social relationships.

The effectiveness of nutrition education for overweight/obese mothers with stunted children (NEO-MOM) in reducing the double burden of malnutrition in Indonesia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundNutrition transition in developing countries were induced by rapid changes in food patterns and nutrient intake when populations adopt modern lifestyles during economic and social development, urbanization and acculturation. Consequently, these countries suffer from the double burden of malnutrition, consisting of unresolved undernutrition and the rise of overweight/obesity. The prevalence of the double burden of malnutrition tends to be highest for moderate levels (third quintile) of socioeconomic status. Evidence suggests that modifiable factors such as intra-household food distribution and dietary diversity are associated with the double burden of malnutrition, given household food security. This article describes the study protocol of a behaviorally based nutrition education intervention for overweight/obese mothers with stunted children (NEO-MOM) in reducing the double burden of malnutrition.MethodsNEO-MOM is a randomized controlled trial with a three-month behavioral intervention for households involving pairs of 72 stunted children aged 2–5 years old and overweight/obese mothers (SCOWT) in urban Indonesia. The SCOWT pairs were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or to a comparison group that received usual care plus printed educational materials. The intervention consisted of six classroom sessions on nutrition education and home visits performed by trained community health workers using a motivational interviewing approach. The primary outcomes of this study are the prevalence of double burden of malnutrition as measured in SCOWT, child’s height-for-age z-score (HAZ) and maternal body mass index (BMI).DiscussionBecause previous studies are mainly observational in nature, this study advances understanding of the double burden of malnutrition through a fully powered randomized controlled trial. The intervention assists participants in self-administered goal setting to improve diet and child feeding behaviors by improving self-efficacy. Maternal self-efficacy may be enhanced through vicarious and active mastery of experiences gained during six sessions of nutrition education and verbal persuasion during home visits.Trial registrationThe Universal Trial Number (UTN) for this study is U1111-1175-5834. This trial was registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) and is allocated the registration number: ACTRN12615001243505 on 12 November 2015.

Effect of verbal persuasion on self-efficacy for pain-related diagnostic sensory testing in individuals with chronic neck pain and healthy controls - a randomized, controlled trial.

The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in cold pain threshold (CTh), pressure pain threshold (PPT), cold pain tolerance (CPTo) tests, and the level of self-efficacy when self-efficacy for diagnostic sensory testing was manipulated by verbal persuasion before a testing situation in persons with neck pain and in healthy controls. A randomized experimental design was used. Twenty-one healthy volunteers and 22 individuals with either traumatic or nontraumatic chronic neck pain were recruited to participate in the study. The intervention consisted of two experimental verbal persuasion conditions: Increase self-efficacy and Decrease self-efficacy. The PPT was measured using a pressure algometer, the CTh was measured using a thermo test system, and CPTo was measured by submerging the participant’s hand in ice water up to the elbow joint. On three occasions, the participants reported their self-efficacy level in performing the sensory tests. In the chronic neck pain group, there were no differences in pain threshold or tolerance. There was a difference in the self-efficacy level after verbal persuasion between the experimental conditions. In the healthy control group, the CThs increased following the condition that aimed to increase self-efficacy. No other differences were observed in the healthy controls. A short verbal persuasion in the form of manipulative instructions seems to have a marginal effect on the individual’s self-efficacy levels in the chronic neck pain group and a slight influence on the results of sensory testing in healthy controls.

Comparing the Effect of Peer Support and Training by Healthcare Providers on Women’s Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy

Background: Breastfeeding self-efficacy is an important factor affecting the success and duration of breastfeeding. Self-efficacy of people is influenced by four sources including performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion and the physiological responses which seem to be modified by breastfeeding intervention. This study was conducted to compare the effect of providing peer support versus training women by health care providers on breastfeeding self-efficacy. Methods:This controlled clinical trial was conducted on 93 primiparous women in Mashhad health-care centres. Three centres were selected as clusters and subjects who attended each cluster were randomly allocated to three groups of peer support, training by health care providers and control. The peer support group received support from their peers four times. Subjects who were trained by health care providers participated in four training sessions by health care providers and the control group only received the routine care. At the end of the eighth postpartum week, data were collected using the breastfeeding self-efficacy scale. The data were analysed using ANOVA and paired t-test with SPSS, version 14. Results: The mean score of self-efficacy at the end of the eighth postpartum week, in the peer support, training by healthcare providers and control groups, were 54.4±9.75, 50.8±13.05 and 56.4±9.49, respectively. The three groups showed no significant differences in terms of breastfeeding self-efficacy score at the end of the eighth postpartum week (‌P-value=0.125). Breastfeeding self-efficacy score at baseline and at the end of the eighth postpartum week were significantly different in peer support and training by health care providers groups (P=0.05). Conclusion: Peer support and training by healthcare providers have similar impact on breastfeeding self-efficacy in primiparous women. So they could be used interchangeably to promote breastfeeding behavior.

The Effects of Utilizing High Element Ropes Courses as a Treatment Intervention on Self-Efficacy

Adventure-Based Therapy (ABT) is a treatment intervention in Recreational Therapy (RT) that has the capacity to produce a variety of physical, psychological, cognitive, and social outcomes. While there is research on the potential benefits of ABT and ropes course experiences, there is a lack of research on which course types lead to specific results, which may result in inconsistent programming. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine the impact of a static belay high ropes course experience on self-efficacy and to explore the different parts of the course experience that were beneficial in developing self-efficacy. Assessments reflected a significant increase in self-efficacy following the ropes course experience. Focus groups and follow-up interviews reflected the different factors of ropes course experiences that led to the differences between pre- and postassessment scores. These results supported that high ropes course programming can impact self-efficacy development, including mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional and physiological arousal. Based on these findings, recreational therapists should consider the use of the high ropes course as a tool to improve self-efficacy. Additional implications for practice and future research are included.