According to self-efficacy theory, self-efficacy—defined as perceived capability to perform a behavior—causally influences expected outcomes of behavior, but not vice versa. However, research has shown that expected outcomes causally influence self-efficacy judgments, and some authors have argued that this relationship invalidates self-efficacy theory. Bandura has rebutted those arguments saying that self-efficacy judgments are not invalidated when influenced by expected outcomes. This article focuses on a contradiction in Bandura’s rebuttal. Specifically, Bandura has argued (a) expected outcomes cannot causally influence self-efficacy, but (b) self-efficacy judgments remain valid when causally influenced by expected outcomes. While the debate regarding outcome expectancies and self-efficacy has subsided in recent years, the inattention to this contradiction has led to a disproportionate focus on self-efficacy as a causal determinant of behavior at the expense of expected outcomes.
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