Applying a social learning model to the study of human behavior, Bandura proposed that an individual’s actions and reactions, including social behaviors and cognitive processes, in almost every situation are influenced by the actions and outcomes they have observed regarding other people. This social learning perspective suggests that our anticipations of what immediately lies in front of us are strongly influenced by what has occurred in the lives of other people with whom we affiliate. Our psychosocial template is founded on the amount and type of learning we have gained in our world of interpersonal relationships.
Bandura identifies four factors that affect self-efficacy. The first is Experiencing success in one’s life and work. You can’t fake the achievement of outcomes. Taking an appreciative approach, we assist our clients as a coach to identify moments and times in their past when they have been successful at completing a task. We help Beethoven identify other occasions in his life when he anticipated the successful completion of a musical composition. What enabled Beethoven to sustain this anticipation—and what barrier(s) did Beethoven enact to block this sustained anticipation.
The second Bandura factor is Modeling, or “vicarious experience.” Bandura is particularly noted for this form of social learning. We acquire knowledge and skills by watching other people doing something successfully. I would suggest that we not only learn from this observation but also increase our own positive anticipation of being successful. As a coach, we might suggest that our client watch someone else complete a task that they must themselves soon engage. We might encourage them to find a mentor (even if they are “senior” members of their organization) or pick up a book providing directions on how to be successful or watch a recording portraying the successful performance of a relevant task.
The third factor is Social persuasion. This factor for Bandura is about how we are “persuaded” that we can be effective. We seek to match the challenges we face with support from other people (Sanford, 1980). When assigned major responsibility, we need comparable authority, as well as encouragement and assistance from other members of our organization (Simons, 2005). When serving as a coach, we can not only offer our own encouragement and assistance but also help our clients find other sources of support in their work setting. We often need to be persuaded that we can be effective and that our positive anticipations are justified.
Finally, there are Physiological factors. This brings us to the first elements in a polystatic process: our somatic template and our emotions. As Bandura notes, it is hard to feel self-efficacious under conditions of stress. When feeling “lousy” about our body and mind (as manifest in a disturbed somatic and psychosocial template), one is likely to feel “lousy” as well about the prospects of being successful regarding the challenges we face.
As often reiterated in our Polystasis model, our anticipations are strongly influenced by our bodily condition, regardless of any “realistic” prospects of being successful. Beethoven often felt discouraged about his work on symphonies that were to become widely acclaimed. His negative anticipations often resulted not just from the high standards he set (mental factor), but also from his poor health and, in particular, his loss of hearing (physical factor). We “feel” into the near future as much as we “think” into this future.
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