Collective Efficacy

The concept of collective efficacy was introduced by Albert Bandura in 1986 as part of the psychologist’s social cognitive model. The term collective efficacy is used to describe a group’s shared belief that all the elements have the capacity to cooperate and perform as a collective toward the achievement of desired goals. In other words, each member’s confidence that the group can proficiently function and accomplish valued results. For example, actors in a play have high collective efficacy if each element is confident in their collective ability to perform their roles adequately.

Bandura proposed that collective-efficacy beliefs are influenced by four general categories, namely: -past performance results: how the group handled similar tasks in the past influences the confidence in the present performance. -verbal persuasion: motivational speeches for the group and being reinforced by outside elements of the group. -vicarious experiences: observing others in similar situations may strengthen or weaken collective-efficacy beliefs. - physiological or emotional states: the state a person is in influences their perspective and confidence in the group. For example, a person with high levels of stress is more likely to show lower levels of confidence.