Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is the belief that one is capable of performing in a certain manner or attaining certain goals. It is a belief that one has the capabilities to execute the courses of actions required to manage prospective situations. Unlike efficacy, which is the power to produce an effect (in essence, competence), self-efficacy is the belief (whether or not accurate) that one has the power to produce that effect. For example, a person with high self efficacy may engage in a more health related activity when an illness occurs, whereas a person with low self efficacy would harbor feelings of hopelessness.
It is important here to understand the distinction between self-esteem and self-efficacy. Self-esteem relates to a persons sense of self-worth, whereas self-efficacy relates to a persons perception of their ability to reach a goal. For example, say a person is a terrible rock climber, they would likely have a poor self-efficacy in regard to rock climbing, but this wouldnt need to affect their self-esteem; most people dont invest much of their self-esteem in this activity.

# Social cognitive theory
The concept of self-efficacy is the focal point of Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory. By means of the self-system, individuals exercise control over their thoughts, feelings and actions. Among the beliefs with which an individual evaluates the control over his/her actions and environment, self-efficacy beliefs are the most influential arbiter of human activity. Self-efficacy  the belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments  is constructed on the basis of the four most influential sources: enactive attainment, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and physiological as well as emotional factors.
Self-efficacy plays the central role in the cognitive regulation of motivation, because people regulate the level and the distribution of effort they will expend in accordance with the effects they are expecting from their actions.

## How self-efficacy affects human function

## Factors affecting self-efficacy
Bandura points to four sources affecting self-efficacy;
"Children cannot be fooled by empty praise and condescending encouragement. They may have to accept artificial bolstering of their self-esteem in lieu of something better, but what I call their accruing ego identity gains real strength only from wholehearted and consistent recognition of real accomplishment, that is, achievement that has meaning in their culture." (Erik Erikson)

# Theoretical models
A theoretical model of the effect of self-efficacy on transgressive behavior was developed and verified in research with school children.

## Prosociality and moral disengagement
Feelings of self-efficacy with respect to school work, interpersonal interactions, and self-regulation influenced prosocial behavior and whether or not a child could avoid moral responsibility.  These two factors influenced whether a child was preoccupied with grievances and feelings of anger, regardless if a child engaged in transgressions (aggression, cheating, etc.) was influenced by each of these factors. Self-regulatory self-efficacy and academic self-efficacy have a negative relationship with moral disengagement which is making excuses for bad behavior, avoiding responsibility for consequences, blaming the victim. Social Self-Efficacy has a positive relationship with prosocial behavior which is helping others, sharing, being kind and cooperative. On the other hand, moral disengagement and prosocial behavior has a negative relationship. The three types of self-efficacy are positively related. When we are talking about a negative relationship, it simply means that the higher the individuals academic self-efficacy, the less his or her moral disengagement. When we are talking about a positive relationship, it means that the higher the individuals academic self-efficacy, the more he or she engages in prosocial behavior.

## Over-Efficaciousness in Learning
Research on learning has indicated that in certain circumstances, having less self-efficacy for a subject may be helpful, while more negative attitudes towards how quickly/well one will learn, can actually prove of benefit. One study uses the foreign language classroom to examine students' beliefs about learning, perceptions of goal attainment, and motivation to continue language study. Survey and interview results indicated students attributions for success and failure and their expectations for certain subjects learning ability played a role in the relationship between goal attainment and volition. It appears that over-efficaciousness negatively affected student motivation. For other students who felt they were "bad at languages," their negative beliefs increased their motivation to study.