Positivity and Behaviour: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy in Organisational and Educational Settings

Positivity is an evaluative disposition capturing what self-esteem, life satisfaction and optimism have in common. Self-efficacy refers to specific beliefs aimed at exercising control over the events through self-regulation. This paper examines in two studies whether the effect of positivity on performance is mediated by self-efficacy beliefs. The first examines the role of task and empathic self-efficacy in mediating the relationship of positivity with respect to in-role and extra-role behaviours in a sample of 829 Italian adult employees. The second examines the role of academic self-efficacy in mediating the relationship of positivity with respect to academic grades and academic citizenship behaviour on a sample of 223 Italian university students. Structural Equation Models results revealed that: (1) the relationship between positivity and both in-role and extra-role behaviours was substantially mediated by self-efficacy beliefs; (2) the relationship between positivity and both school grades and citizenship behaviours was completely mediated by self-efficacy beliefs.