Self-efficacy is the belief that you are capable of doing some action, otherwise phrased in here as The user believes that they are capable of performing actions within the appThe user believes that they are capable of performing actions within the app
People are generally more likely to do some behavior if they think they are capable of doing it. I'm not going to sign up for a marathon because I can barely run a mile. I believe I'm capable of giving advice about how to incorporate behavioral science into product design, so I do. See more detail on the page for Self-efficacy
and The user believes that their actions in the app lead to goal achievementThe user believes that their actions in the app lead to goal achievement
If people are going to do something effortful, they want to know that their effort is going towards their goal.
In the app, this can be communicated through Progress monitoring and feedback systems that show how the app is instrumental to goal achievement. It can also be communicated through other UX that shows the user concrete pathways to goal achievement. This is what allows you to Speak to the user with a shared vocabulary
Many “aha moments” can be encapsulated through this principle.
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Self-efficacy is associated with (Bandura, 1998):
- setting higher standards in relation to goals
- greater effort, persistence, and concentration
- adopting a flexible approach to overcoming problems
- treating errors as learning experiences
- lower stress arousal
- fewer intrusive negative thoughts and greater success visualization
Essentially, people care more, adopt more of a growth mindset, and have a higher tolerance for friction. As such, building self-efficacy is a valid method to Intentionally design for failure statesIntentionally design for failure states
A failure state is when users fail to reach their goal in some way. In goal striving, it is inevitable that the user will experience failure states, because a goal is by definition a discrepancy between your desired state of reality and your present state. If we didn't have failure states, the Intention-Behavior Gap There tends to be a gap between what people intend to do and what they actually do, Sheeran & Webb 2016::rmn would be a non-issue (rather than one of the hardest problems in t....