Predicting mathematics-related choice and success behaviors: Test of an expanded social cognitive model

This study explored the nature of the relations among prior achievement, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interests in predicting students′ choice of, and performance in, mathematics-related college courses. Subjects were 166 introductory psychology students. Results indicated that the effects of past achievement on course interest were mediated by self-efficacy, and that interests, in turn, mediated the effects of self-efficacy on students′ intentions to enroll in mathematics-related courses. Past achievement and self-efficacy were each useful predictors of mathematics grades, with the effects of past achievement being partially mediated by self-efficacy. Outcome expectations complemented self-efficacy in predicting interest and course enrollment intentions. Implications for the further application of social cognitive theory to academic and career behavior are discussed.