AnaSherer General Self-Efficacy Scale [SGSES]

Description

The Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale (SGSES) is a widely used psychometric instrument designed to assess an individual’s generalized belief in their ability to successfully organize and perform the actions required to achieve goals and cope effectively with challenging situations.

Self-efficacy refers to the degree of confidence individuals have in their personal capabilities. It can influence persistence, effort, motivation, coping with difficulties, and responses to new or demanding situations.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SGSES is to evaluate the extent to which individuals believe they are capable of achieving desired outcomes, responding effectively to demanding circumstances, and overcoming obstacles encountered while pursuing personal, academic, or professional goals.

The scale can be applied across several research fields, including psychology, education, healthcare, occupational research, and studies focusing on psychological adjustment and adaptive behavior.

Structure and Scoring

The scale typically includes 17 statements assessing perceptions related to personal competence, persistence, coping with difficulties, and goal achievement. Participants indicate their level of agreement with each statement using a Likert-type response scale.

Higher overall scores generally reflect stronger perceived self-efficacy, whereas lower scores indicate reduced confidence in one’s ability to manage demands and overcome difficulties. The precise scoring procedure, including the reverse scoring of specific items, should follow the instructions of the particular version of the SGSES being administered.

Applications

The SGSES is commonly used to investigate associations between self-efficacy and variables such as academic achievement, occupational functioning, psychological adjustment, motivation, resilience, and coping with stressful situations. It may also be used to assess changes in perceived self-efficacy following educational, counseling, psychological, or psychosocial interventions.

References

Sherer, M., Maddux, J. E., Mercandante, B., Prentice-Dunn, S., Jacobs, B., & Rogers, R. W. (1982). The self-efficacy scale: Construction and validation. Psychological Reports, 51(2), 663–671.

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.

Schunk, D. H. (1991). Self-efficacy and academic motivation. Educational Psychologist, 26(3–4), 207–231.

Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Self-efficacy: An essential motive to learn. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 82–91.