Who are the models of self-efficacy? Research with students of different ages

Self-efficacy is the belief in knowing how to take the right course of action to achieve one’s goals. The four pillars of self-efficacy are mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal and social persuasions and emotional and physiological states. To explore the self-efficacy models of the Italian students, we conducted a qualitative study involving 150 students divided into three groups and balanced by gender and age. The results showed that self-efficacy models fall into three categories: family members, close people who do not belong to the family and people with a public image. The participants were asked to indicate what they could learn from their models. The answers anticipate some psychological dimensions that are positively related to self-efficacy and that can support people in facing today’s social and working contexts. These results can be useful to psychologists or career counsellors as a support to the planning of their activities.