Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale (SGSES)

Abstract

The Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale (SGSES) is a widely utilized psychometric instrument designed to measure an individual’s expectations regarding their ability to cope with life’s challenges and perform effectively across various domains. Developed by Sherer and colleagues in 1982, the scale operationalizes the concept of generalized self-efficacy, reflecting a robust belief in one’s competence rather than domain-specific abilities. The scale is typically administered using a 5-point Likert scale and has demonstrated strong internal consistency and construct validity across diverse populations.

Keywords

Self-Efficacy, General Self-Efficacy, SGSES, Psychological Assessment, Construct Validation, Reliability, Social Self-Efficacy, Coping Mechanisms.

Authors

M. Sherer, J. E. Maddux, B. Mercandante, S. Prentice-Dunn, B. Jacobs, R. W. Rogers, C. H. Adams.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale (SGSES) is to provide a reliable and valid measure of an individual’s global sense of self-efficacy, often referred to as generalized expectancy. Unlike scales that focus on specific tasks or situations (e.g., academic efficacy or health efficacy), the SGSES aims to capture a stable personality trait reflecting the perceived capacity to mobilize motivational, cognitive, and behavioral resources necessary to meet situational demands.

This instrument allows researchers and practitioners to assess how confidently individuals approach new challenges, persist in the face of obstacles, and recover from failures. Its generalized nature makes it highly applicable across clinical, educational, and organizational settings for predicting behavior and resilience.

Construct

The SGSES measures the psychological construct of generalized self-efficacy, a core component of Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. This construct represents an individual’s belief in their capability to exert control over their own functioning and over environmental events. High scores indicate a strong belief in one’s ability to cope effectively with a wide range of stressors and challenges, while low scores suggest feelings of helplessness and doubt regarding personal competence.

The scale items are designed to cover various facets of efficacy beliefs, including initiation of action (e.g., planning and execution), persistence (e.g., sticking with unpleasant tasks), and coping with setbacks (e.g., viewing failure as a motivator). Subsequent factor analyses often support a multi-dimensional structure, frequently differentiating between a general efficacy factor and a specific social efficacy factor.

Validity

The initial validation studies conducted by Sherer and colleagues (1982, 1983) established strong construct validity for the SGSES. The scale demonstrated expected correlations with measures of related constructs, such as locus of control, self-esteem, and anxiety, consistent with theoretical predictions derived from efficacy theory. Specifically, self-efficacy was found to be negatively correlated with measures of helplessness and positively correlated with measures of achievement orientation.

Further research, including factor analyses, supports the scale’s ability to differentiate between distinct facets of efficacy, providing evidence for its factorial validity. Studies confirm that the SGSES effectively predicts behaviors related to persistence and goal achievement across diverse settings, underscoring its predictive validity.

Reliability

The Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale typically exhibits high internal consistency, indicating that its items consistently measure the same underlying construct. The source material explicitly notes reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s Alpha) for the derived subscales:

• General Subscale: Alpha 0.86
• Social Subscale: Alpha 0.71

These values demonstrate acceptable to strong internal reliability for both components. Additionally, subsequent studies have confirmed the temporal stability of the SGSES, showing high test-retest reliability over appropriate intervals, suggesting that the generalized efficacy beliefs it measures are relatively stable characteristics of the individual.

Factor Analysis

Although the SGSES was initially developed as a measure of generalized, unidimensional efficacy, factor analytic studies often reveal a multi-dimensional structure. The most commonly identified factors are:

• General Self-Efficacy Factor: Items related to task persistence, overcoming obstacles, planning, and overall competence in managing life problems. This factor typically shows the highest internal consistency.
• Social Self-Efficacy Factor: Items focused on initiating and maintaining social relationships, such as approaching new people or persisting in forming friendships despite initial resistance.

The presence of these distinct factors (General and Social) suggests that while individuals may possess a generalized sense of efficacy, the beliefs related to instrumental performance versus interpersonal competence can sometimes be differentiated psychometrically. The original 30-item version included items that loaded onto both the General and Social subscales.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Questionnaire / Psychometric Scale

Format: The scale uses a 5-point Likert scale response format, ranging from Strongly disagree (1) to Strongly agree (5).

Language Available: English (Original), with numerous translations available due to its international use.

Population Group: General population; used extensively in clinical, student, and adult samples.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (typically 16+ for the standard adult version).

Population Details: The scale has been validated across diverse demographic and cultural groups, making it suitable for cross-cultural research on generalized competence beliefs.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate the extent of their agreement or disagreement with a series of statements reflecting perceived competence and coping ability. Scores are typically summed or averaged across the relevant items (often 17 items for the core general efficacy measure).

Keywords

Persistence, Goal Achievement, Psychological Measurement, Bandura, Social Cognitive Theory, Psychometrics, Coping Ability.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale (SGSES) is generally considered to be in the public domain for non-commercial academic research purposes, provided the original validation articles are cited. Researchers are typically permitted to use the scale without charge. The scale’s initial construction and validation were completed in 1982 and 1983.

The original PDF of a related study utilizing the instrument can be downloaded here: http://groups.colgate.edu/cjs/student_papers/2003/Hamill.pdf

Reference’s

1. Sherer, M., Maddux, J. E., Mercandante, B., Prentice-Dunn, S., Jacobs, B., & Rogers, R. W. (1982). The Self-Efficacy Scale: Construction and validation. Psychological Reports, 51, 663-671.
2. Sherer, M., & Adams, C. H. (1983). Construct validation of the Self-Efficacy Scale. Psychological Reports, 53, 899-902.
3. Imam, Syed Sohail (2007). Sherer et al. General Self-Efficacy Scale: Dimensionality, Internal Consistency, and Temporal Stability. Proceedings of the Redesigning Pedagogy: Culture, Knowledge and Understanding Conference, Singapore, May 2007.
4. Hamill, S. K. (2003) Resilience and self-efficacy: The importance of efficacy beliefs and coping mechanisms in resilient adolescents. Colgate University Journal of the Sciences, 35, 115-146.

The instrument can also be found in related academic contexts at the following links:

• http://conference.nie.edu.sg/2007/paper/papers/COG664.pdf
• https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=dayton1398289771&disposition=inline

Items of the Sherer General Self-Efficacy Scale (SGSES)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Note: The original source material provided several versions/subsets of the scale items. The following list represents the core 17 items typically used for the General Self-Efficacy calculation, derived from the original Sherer et al. (1982) work:

1. When I make plans, I am certain I can make them work.
2. One of my problems is that I cannot get down to work when I should.
3. If I can’t do a job the first time, I keep trying until I can.
4. When I set important goals for myself, I rarely achieve them.
5. I give up on things before completing them.
6. I avoid facing difficulties.
7. If something looks too complicated, I will not even bother to try it.
8. When I have something unpleasant to do, I stick to it until I finish it.
9. When I decide to do something new, I go right to work on it.
10. When trying to learn something new, I soon give up if I am not initially successful.
11. When unexpected problems occur, I don’t handle them well.
12. I avoid trying to learn new things when they look too difficult for me.
13. Failure just makes me try harder.
14. I feel insecure about my ability to do things.
15. I am a self-reliant person.
16. I give up easily.
17. I do not seem capable of dealing with most problems that come up in life.