The presence of many interacting influences, including the attainments of others, create further leeway in how one's performances and outcomes are cognitively appraised

A theory that denies that thoughts can regulate actions does not lend itself readily to the explanation of complex human behavior.

We are more heavily invested in the theories of failure than we are in the theories of success.

Except for events that carry great weight, it is not experience per se, but how they match expectations, that governs their emotional impact

When experience contradicts firmly held judgments of self-efficacy, people may not change their beliefs about themselves if the conditions of performance are such as to lead them to discount the import of the experience

The adequacy of performance attainments depends upon the personal standards against which they are judged

Misbeliefs in one's inefficacy may retard development of the very subskills upon which more complex performances depend