Research into the nature of the self-directed learner asking who and what questions: Are these learners introverts or extroverts? What is their cognitive style? What personality characteristics do they have in common? What level of education have they achieved? Are they more autonomous than other learners? Basically researchers are trying to gain an understanding of the typical learner??s characteristics and style. Specifically they have tried to link a number of different variables with being more or less self-directed in one??s learning.
The notion of readiness and the concept of autonomy have been studied and discussed most often in the professional literature on self-directedness as a personal attribute. The notion of readiness implies an internal state of psychological readiness to undertake self-directed learning activities. Guglielmino (1977) has provided the most widely used operational definition of this idea. She states that people must possess eight factors to be considered ready to pursue self-directed learning: openness to learning, self-concept as an effective learner, initiative and independence in learning, informed acceptance of responsibility, love of learning, creativity, future orientation, and the ability to use basic study and problem-solving skills. These factors undergird her Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS), designed to ascertain adult readiness for self-directed learning.
The relationship of autonomy and self-directedness in learning has been discussed primarily at the conceptual level. Chene (1983), for example, defines the autonomy of the learner as independence and the will to learn. However, she also notes that the learner must have an awareness of the learning process, an understanding of what is conceived as competence in a specific area of study, and the ability to make critical judgments: ??[Autonomy] is a structure which makes possible the appropriation of learning by the learner??
Autonomy, however, is not necessarily context-free; there is a relationship between the personal and situational variables that must come into play for a person to be autonomous in certain learning situations. As Candy (1987b) observes: ??One does not ??become?? autonomous in any final or absolute sense.?? Confidence and commitment enter into each learning situation. Pratt (1988), in agreement with Candy, contends that self-direction is a situational attribute of learners, not a general trait of adulthood. Therefore, adults vary considerably in their desire, capacity, and readiness to exert control over instructional functions and tasks.
To understand self-directedness in learning as a personal attribute, more in-depth study is required. We need to isolate the variables that appear to assist a person to be more self-directed in his or her learning-from seemingly simple demographic variables such as age, socioeconomic status, and occupation to more complex concepts like autonomy, life satisfaction, cognitive style, and motivation.3). SELF – EFFICACY
Understanding how people adapt and adjust to life??s infinite challenges is, perhaps, the most important problem for scientific psychology. Not surprisingly, most of the important models of human learning, cognition, emotion, personality, and social interaction have tried to account for the individual??s capacity for adaptively responding to environmental changes, often referred to as competence (e.g., Sternberg & Kolligan, 1990; White, 1959).
Self-efficacy theory is one of the more recent in a long tradition of personal competence or efficacy theories and has generated more research in clinical, social, and personality psychology in the past decade and a half than other such models and theories (Bandura, 1977,1982b,1986). The crux of self-efficacy theory is that the initiation of and persistence at behaviors, and courses of action are determined primarily by judgments and expectations concerning behavioral skills and capabilities and the likelihood of being able to successfully cope with environmental demands and challenges.1. SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY
Social cognitive theory is an approach to understanding human cognition, action, motivation, and emotion that assumes that people are capable of self-regulation and that they are active shapers of their environments rather than simply passive reactors to them. There are essential ideas in social cognitive theory, which makes the belowing specific assumptions.
(Brandura 1996 describes)1. People have powerful symbolizing capabilities that allow for creation of internal models of experience, the development of innovative courses of action, the hypothetical testing of such courses of action through the prediction of outcomes, and the communication of complex ideas and experiences to others.
2. Most behaviors are purposive or goal-directed and is guided by fore-thought (anticipating, predicting, etc.). This capacity for intentional behavior is dependent on the capacity for symbolizing.
3. People are self-reflective and capable of analyzing and evaluating their own thoughts and experiences. These metacognitive, self-reflective, activities set the stage for self-control of thought and behavior.
4. People are capable of self-regulation by influencing direct control over their own behavior and by selecting or altering environmental conditions that, in turn, influence their behavior.
5. People learn vicariously by observing other people??s behavior and its consequences.
6. The previously mentioned capacities for symbolization, self-reflection, self-regulation, and vicarious learning are the result of the evolution of complex neurophysiological mechanisms and structures.
7. Environmental events, inner personal factors (cognition, emotion, and biological events), and behavior are mutually interaction influences. Their own behavior, which then influences not only the environment but also cognitive, affective and biological states. This principle of triadic reciprocal causation or triadic reciprocality is, perhaps, the most important assumption of social cognitive theory. A complete understanding of human behavior in any situation requires an understanding of all three sources of influence-cognition, behavior, and environmental events.
Social cognitive theory views the three major alternative approaches to explaining personality and behavior-psychodynamic theories, trait theories, and radical behaviorism-as unable to account satisfactorily of the complexity and plasticity of human behavior. Psychodynamic theories are difficult to test empirically, cannot account adequately for the tremendous situational variation in individual behavior, are deficient in predicting future behavior, and have not led to the development of efficient and effective methods for changing psychosocial functioning. Trait theories do not have good predictive utility and do not sufficiently consider the documented impact of situational influences. Radical behaviorism makes assumptions about behavior that have been disputed by empirical findings. For example, Research has demonstrated that environmental events (antecedents and consequences) do not control behavior automatically, that anticipated consequences predict behavior better than actual consequences, that complex patterns of behavior can be learned through observation alone in the absence of reinforcement, and that operant explanations alone cannot account for the complexity of human learning and behavior. Because social cognitive theory assumes that people process and use information in symbolic form, evaluate their own thoughts and behaviors, predict and anticipate events and consequences, set goals and strive toward them, and regulate their own behavior. It surpasses the previously mentioned approaches in its ability to account for situational influences and differences, to explain the effects of belief and expectancies, to predict behavior accurately, and to provide models and strategies for effective behavior change.2. SELF – EFFICACY THEORY
Self-efficacy theory maintains that all processes of psychological and behavioral change operate through the alteration of the individual??s sense of personal mastery or self-efficacy. Self-efficacy was originally defined as a rather
specific type of expectancy concerned with one??s beliefs in one??s ability to perform a specific behavior or set of behaviors required to produce an outcome (Bandura, 1977). The definition of self-efficacy has been expanded, however, to refer to ??people??s beliefs about their capabilities to exercise control over events that affect their lives?? (Bandura, 1989) and their ??beliefs in their capabilities to mobilize the motivation, cognitive resources, and courses of action needed to exercise control over task demands.?? (Bandura, 1990 P316).A. GENERALITY AND SPECIFICITY OF SELF – EFFICACY BELIEFS
Self-efficacy is conceptualized and measured not as a personality trait, but, instead, is defined and measured in the context of relatively specific behaviors in specific situations or contexts. However, the level of specificity at which self-efficacy is measured will be determined by the nature of the task and situation at hand, and by the nature of the task and situation to which one wishes to generalize, or in which one wishes to predict (Bandura, 1992).
Although self-efficacy sometimes is used to refer to one??s general sense of competence and effectiveness (e.g., Smith, 1989), the term is most useful when defined, operationalized, and measured specific to a behavior or set of behaviors in a specific context (e.g., Kaplan, Atkins, & Reinsch, 1984; Manning & Wright, 1983). General self-efficacy scales have been developed (Sherer et al., 1982; Tipton & Worthington, 1984), but these scales have not resulted in much useful research on specific types of behavior change. In addition, measuring self-efficacy expectancies for quitting smoking will be more successful if we measure the smoker??s expectations for being able to refrain from smoking under specific situations (e.g., while at a party, after eating, when around other smokers; DiClemente, 1986). If one??s sense of competence is high for an ability one values, then this will contribute to high self-esteem (or low self-esteem if perceived competence for the valued skill is low). Judgments of inefficacy in unvalued areas of competence are unlikely to influence significantly self-concept and self-esteem.B. DIMENSIONS OF SELF – EFFICACY
· Performance Experiences
Performance experiences, in particular, clear success or failure, are the most powerful sources of self-efficacy information (Bandura, 1977). Success at a task, behavior, or skill strengthens self-efficacy expectancies for that task, behavior, or skill, whereas perceptions of failure diminish self-efficacy expectancy.· Vicarious Experiences
Vicarious experiences (observational learning, modeling, imitation) influence self-efficacy expectancy when people observe the behavior of others, see what they are able to do, note the consequences of their behavior, and then use this information to form expectancies about their own behavior and its consequences. Vicarious experiences generally have weaker effects on self-efficacy expectancy than do direct personal experiences (e.g., Bandura, Adams, & Beyer, 1977).· Imaginal Experiences
Social cognitive theory posits that people have tremendous capacity for symbolic cognitive activity. People can generate beliefs about personal efficacy or inefficacy by imagining themselves or others behaving effectively or ineffectively in future situations (Cervone, 1989)· Verbal Persuasion
Verbal persuasion (or social persuasion) is a less potent source of enduring change in self-efficacy expectancy than performance experiences and vicarious experiences. The potency of verbal persuasion as a source of self-efficacy expectancies should be influenced by such factors as the expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness of the source, as suggested by decades of research on verbal persuasion and attitude change (e.g., Petty & Cacioppo, 1981).· Physiological States
Physiological states influence self-efficacy when people associate aversive physiological arousal with poor behavioral performance, perceived incompetence, and perceived failure. Thus, when persons become aware of unpleasant physiological arousal, they are more likely to doubt their behavioral competence than if the physiological state were pleasant or neutral.· Emotional States
Emotions or moods can be additional sources of information about self0efficacy. People are more likely to have self-efficacious beliefs about performance when their affect is positive than when it is negative.· Distal and Proximal Sources
Determinants of current self-efficacy beliefs may be either distal (past) or proximal (current or immediate), and self-efficacy for a specific performance in a specific situation measured at a specific time will be the result of the confluence of distal and proximal information from all six sources. Just as proximal (immediate) consequences usually exert greater control over behavior than distal (future) consequences, proximal (current) information about self-efficacy is likely to have a more powerful immediate effect on current self-efficacy than distal (past) information.C. MEDIATING MECHANISMS
· Goal-Setting and Persistence
Self-efficacy beliefs influence people??s choice of goals and goals directed activities, expenditure of effort, and persistence in the face of challenge and obstacles (Bandura, 1986; Locke & Latham, 1990). In the face of difficulties, people with a weak sense of personal efficacy develop doubts about their ability to accomplish the task at hand and give up easily, whereas those with a strong sense of self-efficacy increase their efforts to master a challenge when obstacles arise.
Through the monitoring of self and situation, people develop beliefs not only about their current level of competence, but also beliefs (expectations) about rate of improvement in competence.· Cognition
Self-efficacy beliefs influence cognition in four ways. First, they influence the goals people set for themselves. People with stronger self-efficacy beliefs for their performance set higher goals and commit to goals more strongly than do people with weaker beliefs about their abilities. Second, self-efficacy beliefs influence the plans or strategies people envision for attaining these goals. Third, they influence the development of rules for predicting and influencing events. Finally, self-efficacy for problem solving influences the efficiency and effectiveness of problem solving. When faced with complex decision-making tasks, people who believe strongly in their problem-solving abilities remain highly efficient and highly effective problem-solving abilities remain highly efficient and highly effective problem solvers and decision makers; those who doubt their abilities become erratic, inefficient, and ineffective (e.g., Bandura & Jourden, 1991; Bandura & Wood, 1989).· Affect
Self-efficacy beliefs are powerful determinants of affective or emotional responses to life events, responses that can then influence cognition and action. Two domains of self-efficacy are important in the realm of emotion. First, self-efficacy beliefs about behavioral performance influence the type and intensity of affect. For example, low self-efficacy beliefs for the prevention of aversive or harmful events lead to agitation or anxiety (Bandura, 1988). Lw self-efficacy beliefs for attaining highly desired goals or outcomes lead to despondency or depression (Bandura, 1986).
Second, self-efficacy for controlling the cognition that influence emotion can, in part, determine emotional responses. People can become distressed about their apparent inability to control or terminate disturbing thoughts and aversive cognitions, such as those related to anxiety (Wegner, 1989).· Selection of Environments
People usually choose to enter situations in which they expect to perform successfully, and avoid situations in which they anticipate that the demands placed on them will exceed their abilities. Therefore, self-efficacy beliefs determine people??s selections of situations and activities, selections that greatly influence the continued development of these same beliefs (e.g., Taylor & brown, 1988).D. OUTCOME EXPECTANCYIn self-efficacy theory, outcome expectancies are determined primarily by self-efficacy expectancies. The outcomes people expect depend largely on how well they expect to perform (Bandura, 1986).· Measurement Issues
Most studies that have examined both self-efficacy and outcome expectancy seem to suggest that self-efficacy determines outcome expectancy and that outcome expectancy does not add significant predictive utility beyond that offered by self-efficacy. Most of these studies, however, have employed questionable measures of self-efficacy and outcome expectancy.
Some research, however, indicates that when defined and measured carefully and in a manner consistent with the conceptual distinction, self-efficacy expectancy and outcome expectancy can each be important in the predicition of intentions and behavior.· Response Expectancies, Self-Efficacy, and Intentions