In his social cognitive theory, Bandura (1997) defines self-efficacy as the belief in one's ability to perform and organize a task in a way seen to be successful . Self-efficacy is seen as a vital psychological-educational factor and determines the aspirations, behavior and commitment of individuals over time. It has been observed that students with high self-efficacy in performing a task persist longer even when they encounter challenges, participate in school activities, show hard work, and achieve higher levels. Bandura also states that self-efficacy influences behavior, feelings, motivation, thinking, and how one performs various tasks. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay However, it is important to note that self-efficacy differs from other beliefs about oneself such as self-esteem. Self-efficacy is different in that it is specific to tasks and task scope. Self-efficacy is also not a self-confidence in unfamiliar tasks, but a strong self-confidence in performing well-known tasks effectively and successfully. You can be sure to perform a series of mathematical questions that you have been taught. It is not simply a belief, but a collection of experiences in dealing with a type of question or problem, which you are confident in doing. Self-efficacy is believed to come from four sources; mastery experiences, verbal persuasion, vicarious experiences, and emotional and physiological reactions (Chen and Zimmerman, 2007). All of these are important in developing strong self-efficacy and are explained in the following paragraphs. According to Bandura (1997), mastery experience is the main source of self-efficacy. An individual's success at a task increases their confidence in performing that task which increases their self-efficacy. Experience provides proof of the most essential things to master in a given field to be successful. After mastering such information, one's self-efficacy increases tremendously and one is always confident that one can tackle related problems accurately and succeed (Pearson, 2009). Bandura also reveals that continued success in a subject greatly improves self-efficacy, while continued failure weakens self-efficacy. According to Bandura (1997), mastery of experience becomes powerful when one is able to excel at challenging tasks or is able to overcome any challenges and barriers. Mastery of experience is also an effective source of self-efficacy because it involves both an individual's direct actions and conscious thoughts, which together give an individual more generalized and stronger in delivering expected results. Failure of students after putting in more effort to succeed undermines their self-efficacy. It makes you lose self-confidence. Likewise, success achieved after a series of help from colleagues and teachers makes us feel weak in tackling the problem alone. It provides direct evidence that it is possible to perform a certain task or even improve the application of skills and achieve better results (Usher and Pajares, 2009). This is basically because an individual will easily apply the previously used skills or apply them with some enhancements to improve the results. This then presents a more confident individual in tackling even complicated problems. The confidence and self-efficacy gained from experiences makes you confident in tackling even more difficult situations or higher level situations. Bandura (1977; 2004), states that once theone's confidence is built on successes, any future failures will not alter his self-efficacy (Aitch, 2011). Another important source of self-efficacy is vicarious experience. It involves observing similar social and experimental patterns. Watching someone succeed at a difficult thing through perseverance gives students confidence that they can also succeed through perseverance. Through this, the observer gains self-efficacy as he combines new ideas about how to solve the problem with his own and thus becomes better. For example, watching a fellow student succeed at a difficult problem will surely convince other students that they too have the same potential for success (Linke, 2010). He further adds that the way of thinking about the models and the behavior they show are the key things that teach observers strategies and skills to handle such situations in real time. In this way, they acquire the tools necessary to execute and solve any problem or situation. This also helps observers learn about different ways to handle any upcoming environmental question as they apply their knowledge and skills in problem solving. According to Bandura (1997), vicarious experiences become important when one is unsure of one's abilities or has less experience from which to draw evaluations or interpretations (Phan, 2012). According to Schunk, the copying model in which students struggle with problems until they find solutions is a better model for building confidence than the mastery model in which those who make mistakes respond as if they hadn't made them. The entire observation process depends on the thoughts of the observer and these are determinant for the salient success in acquiring self-efficacy or failure. The use of vicarious experiences requires continuous modeling and in different environments to achieve the best results. Vicarious experiences are very effective in increasing self-efficacy in activities that the observer considers threatening or aversive. Having the task performed by an expert gives the observer confidence and can also help to acquire new skills in managing the task (Linke, 2010). Verbal persuasion is also another source of self-efficacy and involves the use of social and verbal cues to strengthen one's ability to perform a task. According to Bandura (1997), the use of verbal encouragement and congratulations could significantly improve one's self-efficacy in solving a task that he was unable to complete. While verbal persuasion alone may not be effective in improving one's self-efficacy, it is an important ingredient and helps initiate a self-change that could ensure success in accomplishing a task. However, the evaluation must be positive and must be expressed at the right time and in the direction of a realistic situation. Verbally encouraging someone that they can succeed in a particular activity helps them to concentrate more and put more effort into an activity (Margolis and McCabe, 2003). Such encouragements also reduce self-doubt and help one focus on reducing personal shortcomings when solving problems. Bandura also states that verbal persuasion must go hand in hand with task performance so that every time one does it well, the encouragement will increase one's self-efficacy. Continued use of these two techniques with successful performance ensures that your self-efficacy increases and that you have self-confidence. The use of verbal persuasion creates strong beliefs in someone and causes them to give up on carrying out activities or put more effort into carrying out the activity (Schunk, 1995). The, 2011).