Self-Efficacy, Political Efficacy and Political Orientation

Bandura (1989) explains the importance of self-efficacy as beliefs that function as "an important set of proximal determinants of human motivation, affect, and action". Self-efficacy is best understood in the context of social cognitive theory - An approach to understanding human cognition, action, motivation, and emotion that assumes that we are active shapers of rather than simply passive reactors to our environments (Barone et al., 1997). Political efficacy denotes a citizen's perception about the effects of his action on political events. It refers to the person's belief that "political and social change can be accelerated or retarded, and that his efforts alone or in concert with others can produce desired behavior on the part of political authorities". In other words, it refers to the individual's perceptions of his effectiveness in political activities. Political orientation refers to the learning of norms, attitudes and behavior accepted and practiced by the ongoing political system, and of social patterns through various agencies of the society. It is the induction of the individual into political culture (Almond & Powell, 1966) and in the development of awareness of political world and appreciation, judgment and understanding of political events (Pye, 1962). This article intends to review the thoughts and works of different psychologists pointing out the relationship among these three constructs: Self-efficacy, political efficacy, and political orientation.