You strongly believe you can control, select, influence, and even construct the circumstances of your life. You do not believe in luck or fate for passing your examinations. You would be high on __________ as you have the conviction about your own effectiveness.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Self efficacy
Option (1) Self-concept — Incorrect. Self-concept is the way we perceive ourselves and the ideas we hold about our competencies and attributes. It is a picture of oneself, not a conviction that one can shape the outcomes of one’s life.
Option (2) Self-esteem — Incorrect. Self-esteem is the value judgment a person makes about her/his own worth. One can think well of oneself and still believe that luck decides the result of an examination.
Option (3) Self efficacy — Correct. People differ in how far they believe that they themselves control their life outcomes or that the outcomes are controlled by luck or fate, as in passing an examination. People’s convictions about their own effectiveness are what self-efficacy, from Bandura’s social learning theory, is about. A strong sense of self-efficacy allows people to select, influence, and even construct the circumstances of their own life.
Option (4) Self control — Incorrect. Self-control is the ability to delay or defer the gratification of one’s needs, as when one keeps studying instead of going out. It concerns holding back one’s wants, not a belief that one decides one’s results.
Note 1: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 02-06-2023 (Slot 1).
Note 2: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 21-05-2025 (Slot 1), and in CUET (UG) 2026 on 15-05-2026 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2025-26): “Self-efficacy … Self-efficacy is another important aspect of our self. People differ in the extent to which they believe they themselves control their life outcomes or the outcomes are controlled by luck or fate or other situational factors, e.g. passing an examination. A person who believes that s/he has the ability or behaviours required by a particular situation demonstrates high self-efficacy. The notion of self-efficacy is based on Bandura’s social learning theory. Bandura’s initial studies showed that children and adults learned behaviour by observing and imitating others. People’s expectations of mastery or achievement and their convictions about their own effectiveness also determine the types of behaviour in which they would engage, as also the amount of risk they would undertake. A strong sense of self-efficacy allows people to select, influence, and even construct the circumstances of their own life. People with a strong sense of self-efficacy also feel less fearful.…” |