Definition
Plain language
How capable you feel of doing a task yourself.
As stated in the literature
A person's belief in their own ability to succeed at a task; measured here via questionnaire as a predictor of how much a user's opinion of a tool shifts.
Why it matters: It helps explain why the same tool sways some people's decisions far more than others', which matters for designing tools that inform rather than override users.
For example, someone confident in their own writing may barely change their draft after an AI suggestion, while someone unsure of their skills leans on it heavily.
Heard on the show
“Third, the change in the person's self-efficacy — the survey term for how capable you felt doing the task, a measure aimed at you rather than at the model.”Episode 205 — The Same AI, Two Labels: How the Pitch Beat the Product in 162 Sessions