Self-efficacy in engineering, engineering identity, and coping in engineering have been shown in previous studies to be highly important in the advancement of one’s development in the field of engineering. Through the creation and deployment of a 17 question survey, undergraduate and first year masters students were asked to provide information on their engagement at their university, their demographic information, and to rank their level of agreement with 22 statements relating to the aforementioned ideas. Using the results from the collected data, exploratory factor analysis was completed to identify the factors that existed and any correlations. No statistically significant correlations between the identified three factors and demographic or engagement information were found. There needs to be a significant increase in the data sample size for statistically significant results to be found. Additionally, there is future work needed in the creation of an engagement measure that successfully reflects the level and impact of participation in engineering activities beyond traditional coursework.

Self-Efficacy Theory (SET; Bandura, 1986, 2000) has generated research and practice ramifications across areas of psychology. However, self-efficacy has yet to be assessed in a legal context. The present paper juxtaposes self-efficacy with self-confidence in terms of theoretical foundations and practical implications, with attention to the area of witness testimony. It is concluded that the concept of witness self-efficacy possesses thorough theoretical grounding as a potential target for witness preparation. As such, we put forth an integrated model of witness preparation featuring self-efficacy bolstering techniques within an established witness training framework.

Despite the application of Self-Efficacy Theory (Bandura, 1977, 2000) to many areas of psychology, there is a lack of research on self-efficacy in the ability to testify in court. The present study fills this gap by incrementally developing the construct of Witness Self-Efficacy and establishing its psychometric properties. Study I featured exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielding a two-factor Witness Self-Efficacy Scale (WSES). The two components are Poise and Communication Style. Study II used a second data collection to show that both WSES domains possess convergent, divergent, and predictive validity relations consistent with those expected using an SET framework. Notably, WSES components predicted perceptions of witness credibility and sentencing outcomes above and beyond witness extraversion, general self-efficacy and general self-confidence. Implications for SET and witness preparation training are discussed.