Self-efficacy, incentive value and personal competence: effects on mood state, intrinsic motivation and perceived arousal

In this paper we describe results of an experiment drawn in order to examine effects of two experimentally manipulated specific cognitions (self-efficacy and incentive value) and a non-specific cognition (personal competence) on mood state, intrinsic motivation and perceived autonomic arousal. Results show that a) the bigger the self-efficacy, the lower the increases in negative mood states (fatigue, anxiety, and sadness- anger), and the bigger the task intrinsic motivation; b) major effects of self-efficacy on mood state and autonomic arousal are conditioned to high incentive value; c) personal competence modulates the effects both self-efficacy on intrinsic motivation and incentive value on perceived autonomic arousal; and d) perceived autonomic arousal is positively linked to negative mood states but not to real physiological changes.