Abstract

To examine whether manipulating self-efficacy affects strength performance on a bench press, and to see if these situation-specific changes would affect levels of physical self-efficacy, 24 undergraduates untrained in weightlifting were randomly assigned to three groups: light, who lifted less weight than they believed; heavy, who lifted more weight than they believed; and control, for whom there was no manipulation. Self-efficacy measures were taken before and after the manipulation. Physical self-efficacy was measured using the Physical Self-Efficacy Scale (PSE). Light subjects lifted significantly greater increases in weight than the other subjects. Heavy subjects significantly decreased self-efficacy following the manipulation. Initial self-efficacy was found to be a significant predictor of baseline maximum while manipulated self-efficacy was significant for performance change. The PSE scores did not change pre- to post-study. The results suggest that self-efficacy is a situation-specific construct which can be manipulated, and which relates to both past performance experience and future performance. Verf.-Referat