Once established, reputations do not easily change.

Expected outcomes contribute to motivation independently of self-efficacy beliefs when outcomes are not completely controlled by quality of performance. This occurs when extraneous factors also affect outcomes, or outcomes are socially tied to a minimum level of performance so that some variations in quality of performance above and below the standard do not produce differential outcomes

Coping with the demands of everyday life would be exceedingly trying if one could arrive at solutions to problems only by actually performing possible options and suffering the consequences.

From the social cognitive perspective, it is mainly perceived inefficacy to cope with potentially aversive events that makes them fearsome. To the extent that people believe they can prevent, terminate, or lessen the severity of aversive events, they have little reason to be perturbed by them. But if they believe they are unable to manage threats safely, they have much cause for apprehension.

People with high assurance in their capabilities approach difficult tasks as challenges to be mastered rather than as threats to be avoided.

If there is any characteristic that is distinctly human, it is the capability for reflective self-consciousness.

Gaining insight into one's underlying motives, it seems, is more like a belief conversion than a self-discovery process