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On Rectifying Conceptual Ecumenism

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Self-Efficacy, Adaptation, and Adjustment

Part of the book series: The Plenum Series in Social/Clinical Psychology ((SSSC))

Abstract

This brief commentary is testimony to Maddux’s resilient sense of efficacy. Because of a burdensome load of commitments, I repeatedly thwarted his requests to prepare a commentary for this edited volume. An editor of lesser efficacy would have long accepted the futility of further enlistment efforts. However, as the clinching efficacious act, Maddux sent me the complete manuscript with the implication that his failed attempts called into question a central tenet of self-efficacy theory, namely, that an unshakable sense of efficacy enables one to find a way to succeed in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Reading the concluding commentary with its serious misconceptions about the nature of human efficacy created an additional self-persuasive influence to put pen to paper. Because of time constraints I will confine my remarks mainly to Kirsch’s concluding commentary.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA

    Albert Bandura

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  1. Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 22030, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

    James E. Maddux

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Bandura, A. (1995). On Rectifying Conceptual Ecumenism. In: Maddux, J.E. (eds) Self-Efficacy, Adaptation, and Adjustment. The Plenum Series in Social/Clinical Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6868-5_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6868-5_13

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