The effects of outcome expectancies on performance motivation are partly governed by self-beliefs of efficacy

To grant thought causal efficacy is not to invoke a disembodied mental state

Convictions that outcomes are determined by one's own actions can be either demoralizing or heartening, depending on the level of self-judged efficacy. People who regard outcomes as personally determined, but who lack the requisite skills, would experience low self-efficacy and view the activities with a sense of futility

[Attributional] factors serve as conveyors of efficacy information that influence performance largely through their intervening effects on self-percepts of efficacy

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

When people are not aiming for anything in particular or when they cannot monitor their performance, there is little basis for translating perceived efficacy into appropriate magnitudes of effort

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