Cognitive efficacy across the life span: Introduction to the special series.

A brief background and the rationale for examining personal beliefs of efficac y and control as related to adulthood cognition and memory are presented in this introduction to the special series. The research presented in the series draws on theory and research from several fields, includin g personality and social psychology, child development, and social learning and cognition. Although particular emphasis is placed on the self-efficacy construct (Bandura, 1977) and its utility in studying cognitive behavior in adults, this introdaction also highlights related work on achievement behavior in children (e.g., Dweck, 1975, 1986; Schunk, 1981, 1982). The series comprises four empirical articles and one conceptual commentary. In the commentary, Bandura argues that self-efficacy judgments are powerful determinants of. yet are also determined by, human cognition, affect, and behavior. It is this theoretical framework that guided the research presented in this scries. The five articles that make up this special series share the general premise that personal beliefs are related integrally to behavior and that this relationship changes with age. More specifically, these articles focus on the nature and function of selfbeliefs of personal efficacy and control as they are related to cognition in adulthood. The model on which these studies are based assumes that self-knowledge of abilities derives from, yet also determines, behavior in a dynamic and mutually reciprocal developmental process. This model is consistent with a contextual approach to cognitive development wherein chronological age per se is no longer regarded as a sufficient explanation for age-related varianc e in cognitive performance. Instead , the roles of task, person, and situational variables have gained recognition as critical components for understanding cognition in adulthood (Arbuckle, Gold, & Andres, 1986; Craik, Byrd, &