LAUSR

General Self-Efficacy (GSE) scales are used to measure the extent to which individuals possess a general sense of mastery that is not tied to a specific situation or behavior. The present field experiment assesses whether the language in which a GSE scale is written can prime cultural mind-sets and, thus, shape participants’ appraisal of their own self-efficacy. Arabic–English bilingual speakers completed the New General Self-Efficacy (NGSE) scale and a questionnaire to measure their emotional reactions to each of the statements of the scale. Across all participants, Arabic yielded lower self-efficacy appraisals than English. Furthermore, in Arabic, both males’ and females’ reports of positive emotions decreased as self-efficacy estimates increased, whereas in English, females’ reports of positive emotions rose with self-efficacy estimates. These results support the notion that self-appraisal of mastery can be modulated by one’s cultural mind-set.