The relationship between self-efficacy and performance within a continuous educational gymnastics routine

Abstract

Self-efficacy has been shown to be related to sport performance in a significant and reciprocal fashion over one season and across repeated trials. The present study investigated the selfefficacy-performance relationship within one continuous (i.e. uninterrupted) sport task. Forty-seven participants had their self-efficacy and performance measured concurrently five times within one educational gymnastic routine. A path analysis revealed that self-efficacy was not a significant predictor of performance, nor was performance a significant predictor of self-efficacy. Previous performance was, however, a significant predictor of subsequent performance, and previous self-efficacy was a significant predictor of subsequent selfefficacy. Although these findings were inconsistent with previous trial-to-trial self-efficacyperformance studies, this may be due to a notion of "overconfidence" developed as a result of the routines created by the participants in an educational gymnastics course. The results further raise an interesting issue of whether the previously established reciprocal selfefficacy-performance relationship remains recursive when tasks vary within one performance.Successful performances in sport are the goals of many individuals. Coaches and athletes are continually in search of ways to improve sport performances. In order to contribute to this, researchers must investigate what influences athletic performance behaviours in order to improve them, including psychological factors such as cognition, motivation, and emotion (Feltz, Short, & Sullivan, 2008). Social cognitive theory attempts to explain how these psychological factors affect human behaviour and how human behaviours in turn affect these psychological factors. A key assumption of social cognitive theory is that individuals are able to plan, self-reflect, and selfregulate (Bandura, 1986). Moreover, people are dynamic shapers of their environments rather than passive reactors (Bandura, 1986(Bandura, , 1997Maddux, 1995). Specifically, individual environments are influenced by a person's actions, situational conditions, and personal features that interact in a reciprocal process that ultimately motivate and affect behaviour (Bandura, 2001).The construct of self-efficacy is part of the more general framework of social cognitive theory. Self-efficacy is defined as the beliefs in one's abilities to organise and perform the actions required to accomplish a specific goal (Bandura, 1977(Bandura, , 1997). In other words, self-efficacy beliefs are not judgements about what skills you possess but rather evaluations of what can be achieved with those skills (Bandura, 1986).Bandura (1997) proposed four principle sources of self-efficacy: enactive mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological and affective states.

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“…For example, when studying interconnections of self-assessment with efficiency it was proved that self-assessment was not an important predictor of successfulness. (LaForge-MacKenzie & Sullivan, 2014). Alongside with it self-assessment can increase the feeling of own value.…”

Self-efficacy, mental models and team adaptation: A first approach on football and futsal refereeing

“…In sport, in general, but in refereeing in particular, there is evidence of a positive, but variable relationship between self-efficacy and performance (Diotaiuti et al, 2017;Eskiyecek et al, 2019;Guillén et al, 2019;Laforge-MacKenzie & Sullivan, 2014;Lirgg, Feltz, & Merrie, 2016;Moritz et al, 2013). The model of Guillén and Feltz (2011) mention several self-efficacy outcomes, such as faster and more accurate decisions, lower stress levels or greater commitment to refereeing.…”

Effect of Self-Efficacy and Instrumentality Beliefs on Training Implementation Behaviors: Testing the Moderating Effect of Organizational Climate

“…Self-efficacy also relates to effort, persistence, and achievement of tasks (Gist & Mitchell, 1992). Individuals having high self-efficacy are more motivated and committed to transferring the learned skills to their workplace (Colquitt et al, 2000; Feltz & Lirgg, 2001; LaForge-MacKenzie & Sullivan, 2014). Therefore, drawing on existing theoretical and empirical evidence, we hypothesize that the following:…”