Demand-perception and self-motivation as opponent processes: A response to Bandura and Vancouver

• Main Author: BLEDOW, Ronald
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2013
• Subjects: self-regulation; motivation; affect; self-efficacy; dynamics; Business; Organizational Behavior and Theory
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/3644; https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312466149
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This article attempts to move beyond the contradictions regarding the motivational effects of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy beliefs are viewed as the conscious reflection of an implicit process of self-motivation that occurs as a response to the perception of increased demands. A positive rate of change in self-efficacy beliefs, rather than a steady state of self-efficacy, indicates self-motivation and is associated with positive motivational consequences. It is argued that the oscillating interplay of demand-perception and self-motivation is linked to the dynamics of positive and negative affect. The theoretical model can account for the conflicting findings that exist with regard to the motivational consequences of self-efficacy and opens an agenda for future research.