Self Confidence - Our Expectation of Success

WHAT IS SELF-CONFIDENCE?

Self-confidence is the expected probability that a person will achieve a goal in a certain situation. For example if Faiz estimates that his probability of achieving an "A" on a Add Math exam is 90%, we would conclude that Faiz had high self-confidence in his ability to do well on a Add Math exam. If Faiz had estimated 10%, then we would say he had low self-confidence about his ability to do well on the exam.

Self-confidence is situational--not absolute. It is important to remember that self-confidence is always relative to the task and situation. We have different levels of confidence in different situations. For example, Faiz might be confident in Math; but lack confidence in English. He may also lack confidence in meeting people. He may estimate that his probability of success when he meets someone is only 10% (relative to a goal of making a new friend). Confidence is relative to the prescribed situation, task, and expectations.

Although self-confidence is primarily situational, self-confidence may generalize across many situations. For example, suppose Ameer was good not only in math, but in almost all academic subjects. He would probably develop self-confidence for learning any academic subject--even those he had not attempted. If Ameer is also good at sports, people skills, and other life areas, then he would probably develop a high level of self-confidence in general.

Similarly, if Syazwan performed poorly in math, social situation, sports, and most areas of his life, then he would probably develop a low level of self-confidence in general. However, most of us are not like Ameer or Syazwan . Most of us believe that we do well in some situations (such as math) and not so well in others (such as meeting people or dealing with conflict).

Generally, it is a good predictor of how well people will perform on all sorts of tasks. High self-confidence also increases people's motivation and persistence.

Our general beliefs about ourselves can have a powerful effect upon our self-confidence across many situations.For example,a PTS student who study in one of the smartest class,because he was a junior,he believed that he was not as smart as the other students.
As a result he usually felt insecure in his classes or in any situation that related to study. He was afraid to talk to his teacher because he feared they would discover his secret that he was really "dumb." Whenever he came across a difficult problem or idea, he would give up easily because he thought that he was "too dumb" to ever understand it.
His underlying false belief was, "If I feel confused, it must be because I'm dumb." He often felt confused, so that "proved" he was "dumb." What he didn't know is that the "A" students often feel confused also, because the ideas and problems really are hard. Feeling confused is not an indication of intelligence or ability, it is a normal part of the learning process.

How is this an example of a negative self-fulfilling prophesy? The belief he was "dumb" caused him to give up too soon. If he had believed he had the ability to solve the problem, he would have persisted.
We can believe that we are too strong and secure to feel threatened. But after he change his mind,being more positive,he now knows that his teacher has helped him reinterpret his confusion. He no longer assumed that he was dumb. Each time he started to assume that he was "dumber" than the other students, he questioned that assumption(anggapan) and persisted(tidak berubah pemikiran) until he understood or solved the problem.
His effort, understanding, and grades improve dramatically. In addition, he enjoyed his classes more and felt more confident about his intelligence in general. He said,he used to think that the few students who could solve the tough homework problems must be brilliant. Now, he is one of them. His increased self-confidence in his personal intellectual power gives him more confidence in almost any problem-solving situation even outside the class.
It is important to note that his intelligence had not increased--only his belief in himself. It was not important that he believe he was brilliant, it was only important that he believe he could keep trying his best a little while longer.