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Path analyses of the relations between self-efficacy, anxiety and academic performance

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Abstract

Differences in academic performance can surely be explained by differences in cognitive aptitudes, but cognitive-affective variables like self-efficacy or anxiety may also intervene. This paper is partly based on Bandura’s social cognitive theory and several assumptions relative to the systemic organisation of the cognitive-affective variables just mentioned with academic performance are tested. 505 students in the 4th and 5th grades were invited to participate in the study. Anxiety and self-efficacy are measured by self-report questionnaires at two levels of generality: dispositional (trait-like variables) and situational (state variables). Performance refers to the scores obtained at an usual French exam. Path analyses replicate the same functional relation between self-efficacy and anxiety. But when one aims at explaining performance, Bandura’s general hypothesis of an effect of self-efficacy on performance directly and indirectly via anxiety doesn’t hold anymore when individual differences in the level of knowledge are taken into account. Interesting enough is the finding of rather different models when the level of knowledge is considered. Indeed, it seems that cognitive affective variables play a more important role to explain performance when the students’ level of French knowledge is low.

Résumé

On peut évidemment expliquer les différences de performance scolaire par des différences d’aptitudes cognitives, mais des variables cognitivo-affectives comme l’auto-efficacité ou l’anxiété peuvent également être évoquées. En se basant en partie sur la théorie sociocognitive de Bandura, on testera plusieurs hypothèses relatives à l’organisation systémique des variables mentionnées ci-dessus avec la performance. 505 élèves de CM1-CM2 ont participé à létude. L’anxiété et l’auto-efficacité sont mesurées par des questionnaires d’auto-évaluation à deux niveaux de généralité: dispositionnel et situationnel. Le niveau de performance réfère ici aux résultats obtenus lors d’un banal examen de français. Dans les différentes analyses de parcours effectuées, on réplique la même relation fonctionnelle entre auto-efficacité et anxiété. Cependant, quand on cherche à expliquer le niveau de performance, l’hypothèse générale de Bandura d’un effet direct et indirect (via l’anxiété) de l’auto-efficacité sur la performance, ne tient plus quand on prend en compte les différences individuelles dans le niveau de connaissances en français des élèves. Un autre résultat intéressant renvoie à la découverte de modèles assez différents en fonction du niveau de connaissance. En effet, les variables cognitivo-affectives semblent jouer un rôle plus important dans l’explication de la performance quand le niveau de connaissance des élèves est faible.

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  1. University of Rennes 2, France

    Géraldine Rouxel

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Rouxel, G. Path analyses of the relations between self-efficacy, anxiety and academic performance. Eur J Psychol Educ 14, 403–421 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173123

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