Measures Of Self-precept Must Be Tailored To

People Who Are Burdened By Acute Misgivings About Their Coping Capabilities Suffer Much Distress And Expend Much Effort In Defensive Action... They Cannot Get Themselves To Do Things They Find Subjectively Threatening Even Though They Are Objectively Safe. They May Even Shun Easily Manageable Activities Because They See Them As Leading To More Threatening Events Over Which They Will Be Unable To Exercise Adequate Control.

Self-appraisals Are Influenced By Evaluative Reactions Of Others.

Accurate Processing Of Information About Outcomes Is No Simple Task Under The Variable Conditions Of Everyday Life . . . Usually, Many Factors Enter Into Determining What Effects, If Any, Given Actions Will Have, Actions, Therefore, Produce Outcomes Probabilistically Rather Than Certainly. Depending On The Particular Conjunction Of Factors, The Same Course Of Action May Produce Given Outcomes Regularly, Occasionally, Or Only Infrequently

Agemates Provide The Most Informative Points Of Reference For Comparative Efficacy Appraisal And Verification. Children Are, Therefore, Especially Sensitive To Their Relative Standing Among The Peers With Whom They Affiliate In Activities That Determine Prestige And Popularity

Self-appraisals Of Efficacy Are Reasonably Accurate, But They Diverge From Action Because People Do Not Know Fully What They Will Have To Do, Lack Information For Regulating Their Effort, Or Are Hindered By External Factors From Doing What They Can