The Relationship of Failure or Success with Self-Efficacy Expectations of Young Men in Shooting Task

The aim of this study was to determine the probable relationship of failure and success with self-efficacy expectations in learning shooting skill. The subjects were 63 physical education students of Urmia University who were assigned to two experimental and one control group. The subjects received training in air-rifle shooting for one day and practiced it for three days. At the end of each practice session, the first experimental group received verbal feedback regarding their successful performance (high score and low error). The second experimental group received verbal feedback regarding their failure (low score and high error). The control group did not receive any feedback. At the end of final training session and after 48 hours of detraining, the subjects performed the criteria task as performance and retention tests. During the retention phase (before they performed criteria task), the subjects filled out self-efficacy questionnaire of Bandura and Adams (1997). The questionnaire included one open-ended question on the main reason for the subjects’ performance and five other questions on predicting their performance in retention test. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) test to determine the differences resulted from research variables. Pearson correlation coefficient test was used to determine significant relationships of predicted and the real performance (α=0.05). The findings showed that the control and the failed groups had weaker performance than the successful group. Further analysis indicated that the level and the power of the perceived self-efficacy were significant and higher among the members of the successful group compared to the failed and the control group. In addition, the relationship between predicted performance and the real performance was significant only in the successful group. The findings supported Bandura’s theory regarding the effects of successful experiences on improving self-efficacy.