Are we talking about the task or the computer? An examination of the associated domains of task-specific and computer self-efficacies

• Published in: Computers in human behavior Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 978 - 987
• Main Authors: Ortiz de Guinea, Ana, Webster, Jane
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Associationism; Biological and medical sciences; Dealing; Effectiveness; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human behavior; Judgments; Learning; Perception; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Self-efficacy; SEM; Social attribution, perception and cognition; Social cognitive theory; Social psychology; Talking; Tasks; Use; Learning; SEM; Social cognitive theory; Use; Associationism; Self-efficacy; Human; Cognitive theory; Acquisition process; Self efficacy; Computer; Social cognition
• ISSN: 0747-5632; 1873-7692
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2010.12.002

Much research has investigated computer self-efficacy. Despite these efforts, the relation between efficacy beliefs concerning the task being performed on the computer and beliefs dealing with the computer application remains overlooked. In this study, we apply associationism to show how task-specific self-efficacy beliefs (TSE) positively influence computer-specific self-efficacy (CSE) judgments. We also show that this relation might be more complex than first thought: the degree of match between the novelty of the task and the novelty the application moderates this relation. That is, when both the task and the application are novel (or not), the influence of TSE on CSE is greater than when one is novel and the other is not. Furthermore, we show that CSE positively influences perceptions of usefulness, and as such, CSE represents one of the building blocks of the formation of beliefs about computer applications. Finally, several implications for practice and future research are discussed.