Among the mechanisms of human agency, none is more central or pervasive than people’s
beliefs in their efficacy to manage their own functioning and to exercise control over events that
affectt heir lives (Bandura, 1997, 2001a). A sense of personal efficacy is the foundation of
human agency. Whatever other factors serve as guides and motivators, they are rooted in the
core belief that one has the power to produce desired effects by one’s actions, otherwise one has
little incentive to act or to persevere in the face of difficulties.