selvefficacy

Selvefficacy is a proposed psychological construct describing the perceived and/or demonstrated effectiveness of an individual's self-directed actions toward achieving personal goals. It emphasizes agency, self-regulation, and the capacity to select, implement, and adjust strategies without external prompting. While related to Bandura's concept of self-efficacy, selvefficacy centers more on the actual effectiveness of self-guided processes rather than merely belief in one's general abilities.

In practice, selvefficacy may be measured with self-report scales assessing confidence in using self-regulation strategies, persistence after setbacks, and the ability to monitor progress. It can also be inferred from performance-based tasks that require goal-directed behavior, such as sticking to a plan, adapting methods in light of feedback, or sustaining effort over time. Some researchers view selvefficacy as the outcome of interactions among self-efficacy beliefs, executive function, and habit formation.

Applications appear in education, health behavior change, psychotherapy, and workplace productivity. Proponents argue that higher selvefficacy supports sustained effort, better goal attainment, and more adaptive responses to failure, while lower selvefficacy can undermine persistence even when task knowledge or skills are adequate.

Because selvefficacy is less widely defined than related constructs, there is ongoing debate about its precise boundaries, measurement, and practical utility. Critics note potential overlap with established concepts such as self-efficacy, self-regulation, and metacognition, and warn against conflating belief with observed performance. As an evolving term, it remains the subject of theoretical clarification and empirical testing.