Predicting miscalibration of academic self-efficacy in first-year university undergraduates

Academic self-efficacy is traditionally viewed as one of the most important non-intellective determinants of performance outcomes in student populations. However, undergraduate students are particularly prone to miscalibration‚ÄövÑvp, whereby their self-efficacy beliefs do not align with their performance outcomes. Typically, students believe they are capable of higher performance outcomes than those they achieve. However, little is known about what underlies miscalibration of academic self-efficacy miscalibration. The aim in the present study was therefore to explore potential predictors of academic self-efficacy miscalibration in undergraduate university students. The study investigated the influence of a range of characteristics on the likelihood of being overconfident, underconfident, or calibrated. Participants were 85 undergraduate psychology students, who completed a 64-item online questionnaire assessing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, task value, internal attribution of success, external attribution of failure, previous experience in pre-tertiary psychology, Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranking (ATAR) scores, perfectionistic self-presentation, and sex. Participants were prone to miscalibration overall; though in this sample, most were underconfident. Multinomial logistic regression models provided support for the influence extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and task value, the internal attribution of success, pre-tertiary psychology completion, and ATAR scores. Furthermore, several hypotheses were only partially supported; predictor variables differentiated between students according to their calibration group, but not in the anticipated direction. Students were prone to miscalibration nonetheless, thus indicating that educational interventions that specifically target under-confidence in university undergraduates may be necessary.