We all know the meanings of the words esteem and efficacy isn’t it? But when applied to self, the concepts of self esteem and self efficacy become very confusing, so much so that people tend to use the words interchangeably which is wrong. This article will explain the differences between the two concepts so as to enable one to use one or the other term correctly.
Self esteem
Though mostly confined to psychology, self esteem has become a very popular word today and commonly refer to people having a high self esteem or low self esteem. Self esteem is a concept that refers to a person’s overall evaluation of himself. It is an appraisal of one’s own worth. There is no scale to measure self esteem but you can tell whether a person has a high self esteem or low self esteem by his behavior and reaction to his environments. Self esteem is the opinion one has about himself. People having high self esteem have a good self image and such people believe that they are good, reliable, hardworking, honest and friendly to others. Self esteem is just like a mirror in which you can see your qualities just as you see your image in a mirror.
However, those having a low self esteem are the people who are timid, shy, introvert, and non competitive. Such people believe that others are better than they are and despite wearing the best of clothes will feel awkward and feel that others are better dressed than they are. People with low self esteem never realize their potential and are condemned to live a sub standard life, at least inwardly. Self esteem is a crucial and vital to have a positive attitude towards life and others. Low self esteem translates into poor self confidence which causes people to have negative feelings and such people are likely to give up challenges rather easily.
Self efficacy
Self efficacy is a concept related to self esteem. It was introduced by Albert Bandura. If you have heard about locus of control, you will easily understand this term. It is an assessment of an individual about his ability to perform a task or face a situation. This is one feeling that builds up as you go on learning and mastering different abilities in life. In fact, self efficacy is a strong belief in your own ability to do succeed against all odds. If you have a strong belief in your ability to learn new things, you tend to develop a feeling of self efficacy.
Self-esteem vs Self-efficacy
A person may not know ball dancing and may have a low self efficacy for ball dance, but that doesn’t result in a low self esteem if he does not think of ball dance being important in his life. Thus you can see that self esteem is different from self efficacy. Self esteem is a permanent internal feeling while self efficacy is a feeling that depends upon the performance at hand. Had they been the same, you would have been on a high one day and felt terribly the very next day when confronted with a task that you did not have the ability to perform. Similarly, you know that success or failure at one task does not affect your self esteem. You know that you are worth more than a performance or more.