COMPUTER SELF-EFFICACY - Human-Computer Interaction and Management Information Systems: Foundations - page 223

directly influence their own learning. For example, individuals can choose to terminate their
learning prematurely, can choose not to further practice a new skill if they believe they have mas-
tered the skill, or can make other poor choices that limit their learning. Alternatively, in the class-
room setting, learners' choices are largely influenced by the instructor in the form of classroom
instruction or exercises and quizzes administered. Therefore, the influence of individual differ-
ences may be weaker in classroom settings where the instructor determines the amount of time
learners spend on specific tasks (Brown, 2001), while their dependence on their self-evaluation,
self-monitoring, self-control, and self-motivation skills is increased in the self-regulated learning
context (Bandura, 1991). Two particular factors are being investigated in this research stream:
goal orientation and self-awareness. Each of these is briefly discussed below.
Goal Orientation and Self-Efficacy
Researchers have identified goal orientation as an important factor to consider when examining
the learning process (Bandura, 1987; Bandura and Cervone, 1983; Ford et al., 1998; Kanfer et al.,
1994; Kanfer and Heggestad, 1999; Schmidt and Ford, 2003; VandeWalle et al., 1999). Mastery
goal orientation refers to individuals' desire to develop new skills, understand tasks, and success-
fully achieve self-referenced standards for mastery of the learning objective. Individuals with a
mastery orientation are interested in the learning process, understand that their mistakes are part
of the learning process, and perceive mistakes as opportunities to learn and improve (Martocchio
and Dulebohn, 1994). Therefore, these individuals, even if difficulties are encountered, tend to be
resilient and demonstrate positive levels of self-efficacy (Bandura and Cervone, 1983). Mastery-
oriented individuals are more likely to perceive mistakes as useful experiences for developing
strategies to improve performance, as they believe they have the ability to organize the resources
required to meet their learning objectives (Bandura and Cervone, 1983).
Performance goal orientation drives individuals' desire to achieve superiority in performing or
achieving the goal compared to others, avoid negative judgments from others, to surpass normative-
based standards, or to succeed with little effort (Kanfer et al., 1994). Performance orientation
causes individuals to believe that their skill set or knowledge is fixed, and to therefore focus on
demonstrating their competence (Brown, 2001).
The differences in individuals' goal orientation influence their approach to learning, their desire
to set either learning-oriented or performance-oriented goals, or the persistence they choose to
demonstrate during their learning experiences. As high mastery-orientation tends to cause individu-
als to believe they can improve their abilities, these individuals tend to demonstrate greater persist-
ence in learning, perceive difficult tasks as challenges from which to learn, and perceive mistakes or
negative feedback as learning experiences. High performance-orientation tends to cause individuals
to avoid difficult tasks, as these tasks are viewed as potential for not performing well, or to terminate
learning following negative feedback on performance. The “fixed skillset” view of individuals high
in performance-orientation tends to cause them to interpret negative feedback in a self-diagnostic
manner, as opposed to a task-diagnostic manner, thereby deflating their confidence in their abilities.
Interestingly, the interaction between goal orientation and self-efficacy within a particular
domain can cause individuals to demonstrate a variety of behavioral patterns. Those high in per-
formance orientation may show mastery-oriented behavior patterns in domains in which they have
high confidence in their ability. Individuals high in performance-orientation and low in self-efficacy
are much more likely to avoid challenging tasks, exhibit limited persistence in the face of difficulty
or failure, and be easily distracted during their learning experiences. Individuals with low self-efficacy
and high performance goal orientation are also more likely to engage in self-handicapping behaviors,