A longitudinal study of lst-year university student adjustment examined the effects of academic self-efficacy and optimism on students' academic performance, stress, health, and commitment to remain in school. Predictor variables (high school grade-point average, academic self-efficacy, and optimism) and moderator variables (academic expectations and self-perceived coping ability) were measured at the end of the first academic quarter and were related to classroom performance, personal adjustment, stress, and health, measured at the end of the school year. Academic self-efficacy and optimism were strongly related to performance and adjustment, both directly on academic performance and indirectly through expectations and coping perceptions (challenge-threat evaluations) on classroom performance, stress, health, and overall satisfaction and commitment to remain in school. Observed relationships corresponded closely to the hypothesized model.

A web-based survey of members of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science tested a model that proposed that the effects of science support experiences on commitment to science careers would be mediated by science self-efficacy and identity as a scientist. A sample of 327 undergraduates and 338 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows described their science support experiences (research experience, mentoring, and community involvement); psychological variables (science self-efficacy, leadership/teamwork self-efficacy, and identity as a scientist); and commitment to pursue a career in scientific research. Structural equation model analyses supported our predictions. Among the undergraduates, science (but not leadership/teamwork), self-efficacy, and identity as a scientist fully mediated the effects of science support experiences and were strong predictors of commitment. Results for the graduate/postdoctoral sample revealed a very similar pattern of results, with the added finding that all three psychological mediators, including leadership/teamwork self-efficacy, predicted commitment.

A two-part study examined the effects of leadership efficacy and optimism on the evaluation and performance of military cadet leaders. Cadets at several universities responded to measures of leadership confidence and optimism. In Part 1, the cadets (n = 96) were rated for leadership potential by their military science professors. Both leadership efficacy and optimism were associated with rated leadership potential. Part 2 followed most of the same cadets (n = 64) to U.S. Army summer leadership training. Leadership efficacy, but not optimism, was strongly related to performance evaluations by objective observers in a leadership simulation and to leadership ratings by peers and superiors. A measure of general self-esteem was not an independent predictor of leadership performance ratings, and neither leadership efficacy nor optimism predicted nonleadership performance measures. These findings suggest that self-rated leadership efficacy has concurrent, predictive, and discriminant validity as a contributor to leadership evaluations.

Prior research shows that undergraduates tend to identify more strongly with the field of science after participating in scientific research. However, mediators that might account for this association are not well understood. In the current study, we propose that science self-efficacy may serve this mediational function. Specifically, data from a 2-year longitudinal study were used to test a model in which science selfefficacy was expected to mediate the association between research involvement and identity as a scientist. The ethnically diverse sample included 251 undergraduates who were recruited from colleges and universities across the United States. The hypothesized mediation model was tested with a cross-lagged panel analysis. As expected, greater levels of research experience at Time 1 predicted higher identity as a scientist at Time 3, and this association was mediated by science self-efficacy at Time 2. Exploratory analyses testing for ethnic and gender differences in the model suggested that the associations in the model were similar for undergraduates from diverse backgrounds. From a theoretical standpoint, the current study provides novel insight into how research experience, efficacy, and identity relate to one another over time. Applied implications center on the importance of involving undergraduates in research that has the potential to bolster their science self-efficacy. # 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach

A full understanding of how efficacy beliefs influence collective action requires considering the social nature of groups. The authors focus on collective efficacy, a shared belief that individuals hold about the group. Collective efficacy can be influenced by both individual- and group-level variables. A multilevel framework is employed to analyze the antecedents and consequences of collective efficacy in college basketball teams. Individual-level influences on collective efficacy included self-efficacy, optimism, perceptions of leader effectiveness, and perceptions of recent team performance. Group-level influences included group size, past team performance, and confident leadership. The authors also found support for collective efficacy as a shared belief. This support came from showing within-team agreement and the interdependence of team members’ collective efficacy beliefs. Collective efficacy beliefs were persistent and affected group performance. Finally, the role of leadership in the creation, maintenance, and enhancement of collective efficacy was analyzed.

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