Self-efficacy steps

Figure 16.5 reflects the need to focus on "small wins" (Weick, 1984) when assigning tasks and communicating performance feedback. Of course, the kind of situation depicted in Figure 16.5 requires one-on-one observation and feedback in which the individual s initial competencies can be assessed. Then, successively more difficult performance steps can be designed for the learner. The key is to reduce the probability that the learner will make an error and feel lowered effectiveness or self-efficacy. Celebrating small-win accomplishments builds self-efficacy and enables support from the self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Figure 16.5 Small, successive steps to success build self-efficacy.

On the next trial, the teacher would complete the puzzle again with the exception of two or three puzzle pieces. The child would handle the next step successfully with no frustration and, thus, would feel more effective at the task. Eventually, with a patient and actively caring teacher, the child would put the entire puzzle together without experiencing significant errors or debilitation to self-efficacy. The result is a "can do" attitude in this situation, as well as perceptions of personal control and optimism. 

The fifth step is to develop a list of tasks or projects you would like to accomplish and rank them from easiest to most difficult to accomplish. Then, whenever possible, start with the easier tasks. The self-efficacy and self-confidence developed from accomplishing the less demanding tasks will help you tackle the more challenging situations on your list. 

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a self-help organization for people whose common goal is recovery from alcoholism, and it is the most widely accessed resource for individuals with alcohol problems (McCrady and Miller 1993). The philosophy is based on the concept of alcoholism as a chronic disease that cannot be cured, but one that can be halted by means of complete abstinence. AA has described 12 principles or steps to guide those in recovery. Twelve-step facilitation, a manual-based psychotherapy to promote AA participation (Nowinski et al. 1992), was equally efficacious, compared with cognitive-behavioral and motivational enhancement therapies, in a large study of treatments for alcohol dependence (Project Match Research Group, 1997). 

The spontaneous formation of the trefoil knot is a result of strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions serving as a template that can be enhanced by the use of non-polar aprotic solvents such as dichloromethane. The efficacy of hydrogen bonding interactions in the mechanism of the trefoil knot formation was also confirmed through a step-by-step approach in which some of the precursors of the final structure were prepared independently and were shown to self-assemble into an open trefoil knot structure. ... 

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