Welcome back to Reading the Research, where I trawl
the Internet to find noteworthy research on autism and related subjects,
then discuss it in brief with bits from my own life, research, and
observations.
Today's article talks about "self-efficacy" which is psychology's word for "the belief in one's capabilities to achieve of a goal or an outcome." In plaintalk, it's your belief in your own ability to get stuff done. This is separate from competence, or how good you are at something, because I'm sure you've run into that person that's actually awful at whatever they're talking about, but thinks they're good at it. That's a fairly common thing, and that person has low competence at whatever they're talking about, but high self-efficacy.
I found this article interesting because of things I keep hearing from my doctor, and one of the books I picked up from her recently by Dr. Temple Grandin. It seems that a common problem for autistic people is not wanting to go out and try new things, push our boundaries a bit, etc. So instead we stay home, doing only our favorite things (often in front of the computer). This can lead to not getting a job, not meeting people, and becoming a recluse, which is often not ideal. There are a lot of reasons for this behavior pattern, but one of them, I would bet my next week's worth of meals, is that many of us lack this self-efficacy for social situations and trying new things, regardless of our actual capabilities.
These scientists have apparently developed a way to test for self-efficacy, but in a lot of different situations. So for instance, I might have high self-efficacy when it comes to my favorite computer game, because I feel competent with it and that assures me that I can do almost anything I want to in it. But when I get to work and a fellow employee approaches me with a problem, my self-efficacy in that situation might be very low, because of how difficult social interactions have been for me in the past. Regardless of my current skill level, this can be the case. As such, I might withdraw from the situation rather than trying to resolve it.
In general, high self-efficacy is a good thing, though when not backed up with actual competence, it can result in learning experiences. The researchers' results show that high task self-efficacy makes for better on-the-job performance in managing and completing tasks. The higher emotional self-efficacy, the better the person will handle stressful situations and situations with conflict. And, interestingly, the less such situations will bother them. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the better a person's belief in their own empathy, the more they're likely to help out their colleagues by doing extra work when needed.
The researchers conclude that their test will probably be useful for career development, training, vocational counseling, and even for use within the workplace... but they don't address how to develop it, which is most relevant for parents, teachers, and professionals. For that, I had to trawl the Internet a bit. Here's a decent overview with some additional links. I'll probably have more to say on the subject after I've read Dr. Grandin's "The Loving Push."
Today's article talks about "self-efficacy" which is psychology's word for "the belief in one's capabilities to achieve of a goal or an outcome." In plaintalk, it's your belief in your own ability to get stuff done. This is separate from competence, or how good you are at something, because I'm sure you've run into that person that's actually awful at whatever they're talking about, but thinks they're good at it. That's a fairly common thing, and that person has low competence at whatever they're talking about, but high self-efficacy.
I found this article interesting because of things I keep hearing from my doctor, and one of the books I picked up from her recently by Dr. Temple Grandin. It seems that a common problem for autistic people is not wanting to go out and try new things, push our boundaries a bit, etc. So instead we stay home, doing only our favorite things (often in front of the computer). This can lead to not getting a job, not meeting people, and becoming a recluse, which is often not ideal. There are a lot of reasons for this behavior pattern, but one of them, I would bet my next week's worth of meals, is that many of us lack this self-efficacy for social situations and trying new things, regardless of our actual capabilities.
These scientists have apparently developed a way to test for self-efficacy, but in a lot of different situations. So for instance, I might have high self-efficacy when it comes to my favorite computer game, because I feel competent with it and that assures me that I can do almost anything I want to in it. But when I get to work and a fellow employee approaches me with a problem, my self-efficacy in that situation might be very low, because of how difficult social interactions have been for me in the past. Regardless of my current skill level, this can be the case. As such, I might withdraw from the situation rather than trying to resolve it.
In general, high self-efficacy is a good thing, though when not backed up with actual competence, it can result in learning experiences. The researchers' results show that high task self-efficacy makes for better on-the-job performance in managing and completing tasks. The higher emotional self-efficacy, the better the person will handle stressful situations and situations with conflict. And, interestingly, the less such situations will bother them. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the better a person's belief in their own empathy, the more they're likely to help out their colleagues by doing extra work when needed.
The researchers conclude that their test will probably be useful for career development, training, vocational counseling, and even for use within the workplace... but they don't address how to develop it, which is most relevant for parents, teachers, and professionals. For that, I had to trawl the Internet a bit. Here's a decent overview with some additional links. I'll probably have more to say on the subject after I've read Dr. Grandin's "The Loving Push."
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