Sport competition can be divided into a preparatory (practice) and performance (competition) process. Selfefficacy beliefs taken just prior (i.e., within 24 hr or after a final practice session) to the actual competition are referred to as performance efficacy beliefs; whereas, efficacy beliefs measured during the preparation or practice stage are referred to as preparatory efficacy beliefs. Consistent with the vast majority of efficacy research, Bandura [1] suggests that high performance efficacy perceptions are best for performance. In contrast, he suggests that preparatory efficacy perceptions should optimally reflect some sense of self-doubt because they serve as an impetus that motivates increased preparatory effort. Ultimately, greater preparatory effort should lead to stronger competitive performance. Despite Bandura's observations of this process at work, no empirical studies have examined preparatory efficacy perceptions, preparatory effort, performance efficacy, and performance across a single preparation-competition process. This article examines the concept of preparatory efficacy, existing experiential and empirical support for the concept, and finally, suggestions, applications, and implications for future research.

Bandura [1] has theorized that during preparation for sport competition some doubt about one's capabilities to perform effectively may be beneficial to spurring athletes to put forth a strong preparatory effort. We designed two experiments to test the idea that lower preparatory efficacy levels would benefit practice effort. Participants who competed in golf putting competitions were separated into preparation and competition phases. Participants categorized put balls to three targets of varying difficulty (i.e., high, medium, and low efficacy targets). Preparation phases consisted of 30 free choice practice putts. Practice effort was measured as the number of practice putts allocated to each target. In both studies, the high efficacy target resulted in the lowest practice effort in comparison to practice effort at the medium and low efficacy targets (p < .001), and preparatory efficacy was associated with a significant linear increase in effort across the respective high, medium, and low efficacy targets.