Risk of High Self-Efficacy

Some of these posts are not directly related to what happened in 621 class, however, they will relate to the concepts we are studying in class.

This post is about self-efficacy. Actually, we don't study this until a few week from now, but I accidentally read the social learning chapter (once again failing to read the syllabus and relying on my memory bites me in the time commitment)

Self-efficacy: A person's belief about how well they can do something.  With respect to learning stuff, I've developed REALLY high self-efficacy.  Having learned two of the world's most difficult languages -- Mandarin Chinese and Japanese -- having learned Spanish in nine weeks at age 40 + several years, having had to rely on self-study to learn half the extremely technical (science, computer science, physics and engineering) concepts that my various work positions expected me to learn, has taught me that I can learn and apply complex concepts and principles on my own.  (That I may have some incorrect understandings and poor organization of the things I've studied is a strong possibility.)

At any rate, my success at learning, combined with high achievement needs seems to have put me in a precarious situation this semester:  I took too many classes.  Three classes contain a lot of new concepts for which I do not already have existing knowledge.  The fourth -- Planned Change -- presents knowledge that I have from my business school and product development marketing work experience, supply applied in a different way.  Thankfully, this Change class makes it easier to accommodate? this knowledge and principles into my existing schema (ooh ;-) ).  However, the number of classes seems to color my perception of my ability to succeed at all four: My self-efficacy for each class, right now, is low.  I find myself having to use positive thinking ("just shut up and do the work; it will work out") or negotiation ("okay, I can take a hit on THIS assignment because it is only worth xx points") to counter-act my low self-efficacy.

Last night I talked with Chuck about my Change paper.   He helped me refocus my topic and outcome so that NOW I have greater self-efficacy for THAT class, and for my other classes as well.  I wonder if I'm applying this "self-efficacy" concept correctly.  Can self-efficacy be relative or cumulative?  

It's so cool to have vocabulary, concepts and principles -- theory -- to help describe my experience.  I never thought of myself as someone who had a use for theory.  Guess I was wrong.