The satisfactions people derive from what they do are determined to a large degree by their self-evaluative standards

For many activities, people cannot rely solely on themselves in evaluating their ability level because such judgments require inferences from probabilistic indicants of talent about which they may have limited knowledge. Self-appraisals are, therefore, partly based on the opinions of others who presumably possess evaluative competence

In the self-appraisal of efficacy, there are many sources of information that must be processed and weighed through self-referent thought

People are much more likely to act on their self-percepts of efficacy inferred from many sources of information rather than rely primarily on visceral cues. This is not surprising because self knowledge based on information about one's coping skills, past accomplishments, and social comparison is considerably more indicative of capability than the indefinite stirrings of the viscera

A problem of future research is to clarify how young children learn what type of social comparative information is most useful for efficacy evaluation

Judgments of adequacy involve social comparison processes

What people think, believe, and feel affects how they behave. The natural and extrinsic effects of their actions, in turn, partly determine their thought patterns and affective reactions.