Confidence and Self Efficacy

"It should be noted that the construct of self-efficacy differs from the colloquial term "confidence." Confidence is a nondescript term that refers to strength of belief but does not necessarily specify what the certainty is about. I can be supremely confident that I will fail at an endeavor. Perceived self-efficacy refers to belief in one's agentive capabilities that one can produce given levels of attainment. A self -efficacy assessment, therefore, includes both an affirmation of a capability level and the strength of that belief. Confidence is a catchword rather than a construct embedded in a theoretical system.” See Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control, 1997, p. 382

Bandura created a distinction between self-efficacy and confidence. Confidence is a term that is as complicated as self-efficacy. I would make the argument that confidence is a critical part for self-efficacy.

Confidence is the fuel that creates the difference between success and failure. Successful people spend more time and efforts on their goals to succeed versus those that tend to fail. There are multi levels of confidence, for instance there is the level where you know you have the skill set to do an activity due to history or achievements. The other type could be the “in-your face confidence of a prize fighter, the steely resolve of a championship poker player.” (Simons, p.26). Bandura defines self-efficacy as people's beliefs about their capabilities to produce effects to be. People with confidence also believe that they can do a good job at a certain task. The goal of self-efficacy and confidence may be the realization of a measure of success. People tend to achieve failure because they do not feel confident or may also lack self-efficacy because they either have experienced previous failure or have not previously ventured into that arena

Resources:

Simons, T. (2004, November).The Confidence Game.Presentations, pp. 25-31.

http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/banfools.html