Using the social cognitive theory of career and academic behavior as a guide, we conducted a predictive validity study for the Quantitative and Verbal scales of the Task-Specific Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale (TSOSS). The Quantitative and Verbal TSOSS scale scores of a large group of undecided college freshmen were correlated with concurrent quantitative and verbal ability measures (SAT scores) and with subsequent quantitative and verbal performance in academic courses based on GPA. The TSOSS Quantitative scale was related to quantitative ability but failed to predict academic performance in quantitative courses. The TSOSS Verbal scale was unrelated both to a concurrent measure of verbal ability and to subsequent academic performance in verbal courses. These findings are used to provide a preliminary evaluation of the validity of the TSOSS Quantitative and Verbal scales.
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