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Wednesday 7 July 2010

Confidence = Success?

Confidence (or self-efficacy as it is sometimes termed) has been suggested as having a linear positive relationship with performance. The more confident you are the better you'll do, right? Well, maybe not.

Recent research has found that a little self-doubt can be a positive thing. Performance was benefited by a little self-doubt and effort stayed about the same.

How this happens is unclear, one suggestion is related to complacency but further work is needed in the area to examine how and when this is beneficial. It would be interesting to investigate this effect in top level athletes, particularly those who are experiencing lots of pressure and expected to win.

Fear of failure may also interact and it would be interesting to see, when self-doubt can result in fear of failure. What about individuals who may suffer fear of failure AND self-doubt?

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