About Gain Cycles and Spirals of Efficacy Beliefs 1 RUNNING HEAD: CYCLES, SPIRALS, EFFICACY BELIEFS, POSITIVE AFFECT, ENGAGEMENT About Gain Cycles and Spirals of Efficacy Beliefs, Positive Affect and Activity Engagement

Based on Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, we tested how efficacy beliefs (self-efficacy and perceived collective efficacy) reciprocally influence activity engagement (work and task vigor, dedication and absorption) both directly and indirectly, through their impact on positive affect (enthusiasm, satisfaction, and comfort) over time. We conducted two longitudinal studies using independent samples. Study 1 is a two-wave longitudinal field study which examines gain cycles regarding self-efficacy, positive affect and work engagement among 274 secondary school teachers. Study 2 is a three-wave longitudinal laboratory study about gain spirals of collective efficacy beliefs, positive affect and task engagement among 100 university students working in groups. Our findings show that (1) both types of efficacy beliefs link directly and indirectly with activity engagement through positive affect; (2) enthusiasm has a stronger effect on activity engagement than the other positive affects with a lower level of activation; (3) a gain cycle exists whereby efficacy beliefs increase over time due to engagement and positive affect (most notably enthusiasm). Furthermore, Study 2 also shows a tentative dynamic gain spiral with the collective constructs. Finally, we discuss the theoretical findings and the practical implications, mainly in terms of the Social Cognitive Theory.