Average association
A meta-analysis of 45 studies and 102 correlations reported a moderate positive average relation between self-efficacy and sport performance.
Moritz et al. (2000) ↗LEARN SPORT PSYCHOLOGY / MODULE 01Confidence &
BELIEF, EVIDENCE & ACTION
Confidence &
Self-Efficacy.
How athletes judge capability, act on those beliefs and build confidence that is specific, credible and functional.
BELIEF↗ACTION
TASK-SPECIFIC
SITUATION-SPECIFIC
EVIDENCE-INFORMED
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
- Distinguish confidence, sport-confidence and self-efficacy.
- Explain four principal sources of self-efficacy information.
- Describe how efficacy can influence goals, effort, persistence and affect.
- Evaluate whether confidence is under-calibrated, functional or over-calibrated.
- Design an evidence-informed strategy for a specific athlete and task.
START WITH PRECISION
Related concepts.
Different levels of specificity.
Everyday language often treats all positive self-beliefs as “confidence.” Scientific work requires greater precision about the target, task and situation.
CONCEPTWORKING MEANINGSPORT EXAMPLE
General confidence
A broad, everyday sense of assurance that may extend across situations.
“I am a confident athlete.”
Sport-confidence
The degree of certainty an athlete possesses about being successful in sport.
“I trust myself in competition.”
Self-efficacy
A judgement of capability to organise and execute actions for a designated performance.
“I can execute my race plan in Saturday’s 800 m final.”
NOT SIMPLY
“Do I feel confident?”
ASK INSTEAD
“How confident am I that I can perform this task, under these conditions, to this standard?”
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
Confidence relates to
performance—but it is
not a guarantee.
Measurement matters
The relationship was stronger when efficacy judgements and performance measures were closely matched. Belief about one task should not be used to predict a different task.
View DOI ↗A reciprocal process
Confidence can influence behaviour and performance; performance evidence can then reshape confidence. The cycle may strengthen or weaken over time.
Lochbaum et al. (2022) ↗HOW EFFICACY CAN OPERATE
Choice
Which challenges the athlete approaches or avoids.
Goals
The level of challenge selected and commitment formed.
Effort
How much energy is invested in preparation and execution.
Persistence
How the athlete responds to difficulty, error and delay.
Performance
Behaviour and outcomes create new evidence for future beliefs.
BANDURA’S FOUR SOURCES
Where efficacy
information comes from.
These are not four quick “confidence tricks.” Athletes interpret and integrate the information through prior experience, task demands and the credibility of the source.
Mastery experiences
Direct evidence of successful preparation or performance. Mastery is usually the strongest source when success is attributed to controllable capability and effective effort.
Vicarious experiences
Observing a relevant model succeed can strengthen beliefs about what is possible, particularly when the observer sees the model as similar and the strategy as learnable.
Verbal persuasion
Credible, specific feedback can direct attention toward existing capability and controllable improvement. Empty praise is less persuasive than evidence-based feedback.
Physiological and affective states
Athletes interpret arousal, fatigue, emotion and bodily sensations when judging capability. The interpretation—not simply the sensation—shapes efficacy.
CALIBRATION MATTERS
The goal is not maximum
confidence at all costs.
Functional confidence should be sufficiently strong to support committed action and sufficiently accurate to preserve preparation, feedback and risk awareness.
Belief below demonstrated capability
May contribute to avoidance, cautious execution or reduced persistence.
Belief broadly matches evidence and task demands
Supports decisive action while preserving learning and preparation.
Belief exceeds preparation or current capability
May reduce attention to feedback, planning or necessary practice.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO APPLICATION
Same athlete.
Different confidence.
Self-efficacy changes when the task, standard or situation changes. A single global label can hide the actual performance need.
The final 100 metres
An athlete reports high general confidence after winning school competition but doubts the ability to maintain posture and rhythm against CARIFTA-level opponents.
- Assessment focus
- Separate belief about selection, pacing, bend execution and late-race technique.
- Intervention
- Use target-pace mastery sets, video evidence and a late-race technical cue.
Returning after a miss
A shooter demonstrates strong training accuracy but loses certainty after consecutive misses in a close national-team trial.
- Assessment focus
- Confidence in technique, emotional recovery and the next-shot routine.
- Intervention
- Pressure simulations, credible feedback and a rehearsed reset sequence.
APPLIED TOOL
Build a confidence
evidence profile.
Select one performance task—not the athlete’s entire sport.
Define the task
What exactly must the athlete do, under which conditions and to what standard?
Rate efficacy
How certain is the athlete, from 0 to 100, that the task can be performed?
Audit evidence
What mastery, modelling, feedback and state information supports or challenges the rating?
Calibrate
Compare the belief with recent, relevant and reliable performance evidence.
Plan one action
Choose the smallest controllable preparation behaviour that can create new mastery evidence.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Apply, do not merely recall.
Why is “I am a confident footballer” less useful than a task- and situation-specific efficacy judgement?
Which source of efficacy information is present when an athlete observes a similar teammate successfully execute a new skill?
How might high but poorly calibrated confidence interfere with preparation?
Design one credible verbal-persuasion statement for an athlete returning from injury.
PUBLIC STUDENT PACKAGE
Continue the module
with the full materials.
The SPST3004 Week 8 student package supports a complete 180-minute university lesson on sport confidence and self-efficacy.
PACKAGE CONTENTS
- 36-slide teaching deckPowerPoint with theory, applied cases and time-cued video examples
- Student worksheetGuided analysis, application activities and exit ticket
- Moodle modulePreparation, in-class sequence and follow-up task
- Student knowledge checkAligned questions for understanding and application
FOUNDATIONAL READING
Sources behind
the module.
- Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.
- Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman.
- Moritz, S. E., Feltz, D. L., Fahrbach, K. R., & Mack, D. E. (2000). The relation of self-efficacy measures to sport performance: A meta-analytic review. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 71, 280–294.
- Vealey, R. S. (1986). Conceptualization of sport-confidence and competitive orientation. Journal of Sport Psychology, 8, 221–246.
- Lochbaum, M., Sherburn, M., Sisneros, C., Cooper, S., Lane, A. M., & Terry, P. C. (2022). Revisiting the self-confidence and sport performance relationship: A systematic review with meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 6381.
PRACTISE THE CONCEPT
Build a confidence evidence plan
Identify a precise task, examine the preparation evidence and choose one action to test in training.
15–20 minutes suggested
Self-study · no grade or certificate
Self-study · no grade or certificate
FICTIONAL CARIBBEAN TEACHING CASE
Start with the sporting situation.
A fictional Trinidad and Tobago 400 m runner feels generally confident after school competition but doubts the ability to maintain posture over the last 100 m against stronger opposition. Recent video shows good late-race form in some training repetitions, but the athlete has not reviewed those clips.
Your learning goal: Distinguish a general confidence statement from task-specific self-efficacy, then link one preparation action to relevant evidence.
Evidence, with context
Research has reported a positive average association between self-efficacy and sport performance. Matching the belief to the particular performance task matters. An association alone cannot show that raising confidence causes a performance improvement.
The runner is a teaching example. The plan is an educational exercise, not a validated confidence test or a prescription for training load.
Check your understanding
0 of 3 questions checkedFROM UNDERSTANDING TO APPLICATION
Your practice plan
Use a fictional or non-identifying example. Do not enter confidential or clinical information. Saving is optional and stays in this browser.
Open a printable blank worksheet ↗Teaching collection: Dr. Marlon Melville
Activity updated 16 September 2026 · Privacy & saved work