Background of the study

Theoretical Framework
This research study is adopted from the Dunning-Kruger Effect phenomenon as applied to the theory of Bandura (1994) Self-Efficacy.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect was first observed in a series of experiments conducted by David Dunning and Justin Kruger of Cornell University. It is defined as a cognitive bias in which low-ability individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly assessing their ability as much higher than it really is. The unskilled therefore suffer from illusory superiority, rating their ability as above average, much higher than it actually is, while the highly skilled underrate their own abilities, suffering from illusory inferiority (Way, J., 2011)
Dunning and Kruger (1999) found “people tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. The authors suggest that this overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it.”
Moreover, in the phenomenon, it is one of the essential features of such incompetence that the person so afflicted is incapable of knowing that he is incompetent. To have such knowledge would already be to remedy a good portion of the offense. (Miller, 1993) For a given skill, incompetent people will fail to recognize their own lack of skill, recognize the extent of their inadequacy, accurately gauge skill in others, and recognize, as well as, acknowledge their own lack of skill.
On the other hand, Self-Efficacy Theory refers to perceived capabilities for learning or learning actions at designated levels. (Bandura, 1997) Self-efficacy beliefs determine how people feel, think, motivate themselves and behave. Such beliefs produce these diverse effects through four major processes including cognitive, motivational, affective and selection processes.
Bandura (1997) explained that people acquire information to gauge their self efficacy from interpretations of actual performances, vicarious experiences, forms of social persuasion, and physiological, indexes. How students interpret their actual performances should provide the most reliable information for assessing self efficacy because these interpretations are tangible indicators of one’s capabilities.
Furthermore, in the Self-Efficacy Theory, strong sense of efficacy enhances human accomplishment and personal well-being in many ways. People with high assurance in their capabilities approach difficult tasks as challenges to be mastered rather than as threats to be avoided. They approach threatening situations with assurance that they can exercise control over them. Such an efficacious outlook produces personal accomplishments, reduces stress and lowers vulnerability to depression. In contrast, people who doubt their capabilities shy away from difficult tasks which they view as personal threats. They have low aspirations and weak commitment to the goals they choose to pursue. People with low self-efficacy fall easy victim to stress and depression because it does not require much failure for them to lose faith in their capabilities.