The relationship between action control and general self-efficacy – empirical data
Authors: Paulina Koryczan, Lucjan Dybczak, Kaja Malicka, Artur Sawicki, Paweł Andrzej Atroszko
Abstract: Psychological processes that lead from intention to a specific action have drawn attention of researchers for decades. The aim of this research was to investigate which aspects of willpower determine the feeling of high efficacy in achieving goals amongst some individuals whereas others struggle even with simple tasks.
The process that mediates between intention and action is defined by Julius Kuhl as action control. Major aspects of action and state orientation (Kuhl 1994) have been distinguished : 1) decision-related action orientation (AOD) is the ability to self-generate positive affect in the face of difficulties and problems, 2) failure-related action orientation (AOF) is the ability to reduce negative affect once it aroused and to maintain access to integrated representations of one’s own needs and implicit self-representations, 3) performance related action orientation (AOP) which is related to the ability to maintain successful performance of activities. It seems that thus far unique contribution of each of these aspects of action control to the general self-efficacy (Schwarzer 2014), has not been investigated. General self-efficacy is understood as the belief that a person can successfully cope with most of the situations in life. Based on Kuhl’s and Schwarzer’s theories, it is hypothesized that action control is positively related to general self-efficacy and that each of the components of action control has its unique contribution to general self-efficacy. A total of 292 students from University of Valencia took part in the study, 199 women and 93 men with the mean age of 22.22 years (SD = 6.85). Action control was measured with Action Control Scale (ACS-90) designed by Julius Kuhl. Schwarzer’s General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) was used to measure general self-efficacy. Results showed a significant positive relationship between action control and general self-efficacy. Each component of action control had its unique contribution to the general self- efficacy showing that each of these effectiveness facets of intentions’ execution is relatively important for generalized belief about one’s own abilities to cope with a wide range of situations in life.
Publ: Research and Development of Young Scientists in Poland. Humanities and social sciences