An examination of the influence of task difficulty on engagement, performance and self-efficacy formation within a computerised maze navigation task

Currently there exists a dearth in the research regarding the link between task difficulty and self-efficacy formation. Within this project, desirable outcomes often linked to self-efficacy, including engagement and performance, are examined through the medium of a digital maze navigation task. Through five rounds of testing the influence of task difficulty, reward and setting were examined relative to engagement and performance. The earlier rounds of the study facilitated an examination of the influence of task variables on engagement rates and performance. Rounds 1 (n=62) and 2 (n=62) examined the influence of task difficulty throughout a school break period and a typical school week respectively, in order to examine whether the influence of task difficulty was consistent across multiple settings. Rounds 3 (n=61) and 4 (n=66) examined the influence and interaction of manipulated difficulty and manipulated reward. Round 5 (n=66) employed the same difficulty settings used in round 1, but also included a ‘sources of self-efficacy scale’ in order to examine the influence of task difficulty on self-efficacy formation. The results of this study demonstrate a stable relationship between task difficulty, engagement and performance, which have been previously strongly linked to self-efficacy. The final round of this study provides data that supports a link between task difficulty and self-efficacy formation. Altered self-efficacy levels and associated engagement and performance data provide a unique perspective, from which the theoretically reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy and performance can be explored. The results of the study also highlight the need for further research examining the vicarious source and the role of the practice environment in self-efficacy formation