Distinguish between self-esteem and self-efficacy, and give an example of each.

• A. Self-esteem is global self-worth; self-efficacy is belief in one's ability to perform a specific task.
• B. Self-esteem is situational motivation; self-efficacy is the social feedback one receives.
• C. Self-esteem is the same as self-concept; self-efficacy is unrelated to abilities.
• D. Self-esteem is about future potential; self-efficacy is about past performance.

Answer: (A)

Distinguishing between global self-worth and a belief about task-specific ability.

Self-esteem is a global sense of worth as a person. It’s how valuable you feel overall, across different situations, and it tends to reflect your general evaluation of yourself. For example, you might feel that you are a worthwhile person and deserve respect, regardless of your performance in any single area.

Self-efficacy, on the other hand, is a belief in your ability to succeed at a particular task or in a specific domain. It’s not about overall worth but about capability in a given situation, and it can vary from one task to another. For instance, you might believe you can master a difficult calculus problem or give an effective speech to a group, even if you don’t feel equally confident in other areas.

That distinction—global self-worth versus task-specific capability—is what sets the two concepts apart. The other descriptions mix up scope or relation to abilities, which is why they don’t fit as well.