Bandura's (1977Bandura's ( , 1986 A n increasing number of empirical studies are investigating the career development process in general and variables related to the career behavior of women specifically. Hackett and Betz (1981) proposed a "self-efficacy" approach to the career development process of women. Self-efficacy theory is an element of Bandura's (1977) social cognitive learning theory, and self-efficacy expectations are one's beliefs in one's ability to perform a given behavior successfully. Partly on the basis of self-percepts of efficacy, people choose what to do, the amount of effort to invest in activities, how long to persevere in the face of obstacles, and whether tasks are approached self-assuredly or with hesitation.Efficacy expectations are postulated to be acquired through four primary means: performance accomplishments or direct mastery experiences; vicarious experience, which includes social modeling; verbal persuasion; and physiological feedback (Bandura, 1986). Successful mastery experiences serve to raise self-efficacy, whereas failures lower it. Observing other similar people successfully perform a task can raise percepts of self-efficacy if the individual believes he or she too is capable of mastering comparable activities. If the increased appraisal of an individual's abilities is perceived as within realistic bounds, verbal persuasion can contribute to heightened efficacy for given tasks. And finally, feedback from one's physiological state can be used to judge capabilities.Information gained via any of the channels previously mentioned becomes useful in evaluating personal capabilities through one's cognitive appraisal of the information. A number of factors, including personal, social, situational, and temporal circumstances under which events occur influence how one will cognitively appraise experiences. The processing of efficacy information involves two independent functions. The first is the kind of information to which individuals attend in the judgment of efficacy, and the second concerns their internal system of rules for weighting and combining efficacy information from various sources. Depending on the cognitive assessment of experiences, highly successful performance attainments may or may not raise an individual's self percepts of efficacy. Furthermore, if self-efficacy is lacking, people tend to behave in an ineffectual manner, even though they understand what to do. Social cognitive theory proposes that behavioral change occurs through a common mechanism and that different types of influences alter behavior, at least in part, by creating and strengthening perceptions of efficacy.Hackett and Betz (1981) postulated a causal model of career development with perceived self-efficacy functioning as a major mediator. Their research has documented the different ways in which the influences of socialization contribute to the beliefs individuals develop regarding personal competencies and how such beliefs can influence the future course of lives by affecting the choices made and ...