How Can General Self-Efficacy Facilitate Undergraduates' Employability? A Multiple Mediation Model
Jiajia Tan1,2,3, Jinglin Li3, Xinfa Yi3
1Faculty of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 26, 2025
Summary
General self-efficacy significantly boosts undergraduate employability by enhancing achievement motivation and occupational aspiration. These factors mediate the positive impact, offering insights for educational interventions to improve career readiness.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Education
- Sociology
Background:
- Self-efficacy is a crucial cognitive factor influencing undergraduate employability.
- Existing research lacks comprehensive models detailing the mechanisms through which self-efficacy impacts employability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and empirically test a model based on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT).
- To investigate the mediating roles of achievement motivation and occupational aspiration in the relationship between general self-efficacy and employability among undergraduates.
Main Methods:
- Survey research involving 454 undergraduates from five regional universities in mainland China.
- Statistical analysis to examine correlations and mediation pathways.
Main Results:
- Significant positive correlations were found between general self-efficacy, achievement motivation, occupational aspiration, and employability.
- General self-efficacy directly and positively influenced employability.
- Indirect effects of general self-efficacy on employability were observed through the independent mediation of achievement motivation and occupational aspiration, as well as a chain mediation involving both.
Conclusions:
- General self-efficacy enhances undergraduate employability through achievement motivation and occupational aspiration.
- Educational interventions aimed at increasing self-efficacy, achievement motivation, and occupational aspiration can effectively improve employability outcomes.
Keywords:
achievement motivationgeneral self-efficacyoccupational aspirationundergraduates’ employabilityMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
38.6K
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about...
38.6K
Self-Discrepancy Theory
18.2K
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.
18.2K
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
5.1K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
5.1K
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
37.2K
When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs. Research by Rosenthal and...
37.2K
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
49.4K
According to Charles Cooley, we base our image on what we think other people see (Cooley 1902). We imagine how we must appear to others, then react to this speculation. We don certain clothes, prepare our hair in a particular manner, wear makeup, use cologne, and the like—all with the notion that our presentation of ourselves is going to affect how others perceive us. We expect a certain reaction, and, if lucky, we get the one we desire and feel good about it. But more than that, Cooley...
49.4K
Confirmation Biases
5.4K
The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?
5.4K


