COGNITIVE SELF-EFFICACY IN RELATION TO PERSONAL MASTERY AND GOAL-SETTING ACROSS THE LIFE-SPAN

This article is an integrative review of empirical studies of cognitiv e self-efficacy from childhood through old age. Issues of definition a nd measurement are addressed and the relation of self-efficacy to pers onal mastery is evaluated. Research on academic achievement in childre n and adolescents, complex decision-making in young adults, and memory and intellectual functioning in older adults supports a variety of th eoretically driven hypotheses regarding the sources and effects of sel f-efficacy. Percepts of self-efficacy are based on a variety of source s of information, including personal mastery and perceived control bel iefs. Self-efficacy has predictable effects on a variety of task engag ement variables (e.g. persistence, effort, goal setting, strategy usag e, chioce) that mediate the relationship between self-efficacy and per formance. Generalisations regarding the applicability of self-efficacy to understanding cognitive development across the life span are discu ssed in terms of age-relevant domains and it is argued that a life spa n treatment of self-efficacy development is particularly compelling be cause both life span theory and self-efficacy theory emphasise domain specificity.