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Self-efficacy: a cause of debate

R M Hawkins1

  • 1School of Psychology, University of South Australia, Magill, Australia.

Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
|September 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary

This paper argues that self-efficacy is a useful descriptive metaphor, not a direct cause of behavior. It proposes discourse analysis to bypass debates on the reality of mental constructs in psychology.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Philosophy of Mind

Background:

  • The debate on self-efficacy's causal role in behavior, initiated by Hawkins (1992) and Bandura (1995).
  • Critique of Bandura's counterarguments regarding self-efficacy as a causal agent.
  • The conceptualization of self-efficacy as a predictor versus a cause.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To reaffirm the position that self-efficacy functions as a descriptive metaphor rather than a direct cause.
  • To provide examples from applied psychology supporting the metaphorical view of self-efficacy.
  • To introduce discourse analysis as a method to circumvent the ontological debate on mental entities.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical argumentation and conceptual analysis.
  • Review and critique of existing literature on self-efficacy.
  • Introduction of discourse analysis as an alternative analytical framework.

Main Results:

  • Self-efficacy is argued to be a useful descriptive metaphor for behavior.
  • Existing counterarguments to the non-causal view of self-efficacy are deemed insufficient.
  • Discourse analysis offers a way to study psychological phenomena without addressing the reality of mental states.

Conclusions:

  • The concept of self-efficacy is best understood as a metaphorical descriptor.
  • The causal efficacy of self-efficacy remains questionable.
  • Discourse analysis provides a valuable methodological approach to psychological inquiry, sidestepping debates on mental entity existence.

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