Belief system matters!

 

I have seen 2 women, both singers. 

One of them (L) works in a corporate office and sings part-time. 

The other (S) took a fulltime plunge into singing, set up her group and started performing. Both have rich husbands, no children and therefore no responsibilities. Both of the same age. 

However, one of them has gone on to become internationally recognized and the other still sings in her city part-time and continues to work. Both are Indians. Both sing beautifully. 

So, I wondered what exactly differed. 

How is it that one of them was able to move forward and take the plunge while the other could not. 

And I found the answer - The difference is in the belief systems.

“Learning and thinking occur in the context of learners’ beliefs about cognition, which differ as a function of personal, social, and cultural factors.” (Schunk, 2012, p257) 

Hence the belief systems that they have are a function of their own thinking, social set up and cultural trains of thought. “…much human learning occurs in a social environment.” (Schunk, 2012, p 118). 

The environment that S is in is filled with individuals who support her not just psychologically bit also professionally for they are into creative arts and marketing. Her husband goes with her for all her concerts and talks about her. S is also from the part of India where women are asked to move forward and steal their place. Her cultural value system pushed her to excel.

L is married into an environment where women are lesser than men and hence she is on her own. Her husband supports her psychologically but otherwise she is on her own. As the culture does not support independent innovative ventures, she is reluctant to leave her job that gives her a sense of identity. Her self-efficacy ‘…is an individual's belief in their innate ability to achieve goals.’ (Wikipedia, 2019) Is low.

L is recognised (Schunk, 2012, p255) for being a good wife. S is recognised for being a go getter.

Both of them are talented. However, since the ‘context of learning’ (Schunk, 2012, p264) is different, the amount of learning they exhibit, which involves “acquiring and modifying knowledge, skills, strategies, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors” (Schunk, 2012, p2) is different for both of them.

 

References

1.      Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.  

2.      Wikipedia contributors. (2019, June 12). Self-efficacy. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:18, July 7, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Self-efficacy&oldid=901473559