WHY TO WEAR CONFIDENCE?

Look inside our own memory

Confidence is the state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the most effective. Confidence comes from the Latin word "fidere" which means "to trust", therefore, having the self-confidence is having trust in one's self. Hubris in this comparison is having unmerited confidence - believing something or someone is capable or correct when they are not. Persumptuousness is excessive belief in someone succeeding, without any regard for failure. Confidence can be a self-fulfilling prophecy as those without it may fail or not try because they lack it and those with it may succeed because they have it rather than because of an innate ability. 

The concept of self-confidence is commonly used as self-assurance in one's personal judgement, ability, power etc. One's self-confidence increases from experiences of having satisfactorily completed particular activities. 

In 1890, the philosopher William James in his principles of psychology wrote, "Belief what is in the line of your needs, for only by such beliefs need to be full filled. Have faith that you can successfully make it, and your feet of nerved to its accomplishment", expressing how self-confidence could be a virtue. That same year, Dr Frederick Needhem, in his presidential address to the opening of the British Medical Journals Section of Psychology praised a progressive new architecture of an asylum accommodation for insane patients as increasing their self-confidence by offering them greater "Liberty of action, extended exercise and occupation, thus generating self-confidence and becoming, not only excellent tests of the sanity of the patients but operating powerfully in recovering." In doing so, he seemed to early on suggest that self-confidence may bear a scientific relation to mental health.

In 1943, Abraham Maslow in his paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" argued that an individual was only motivated to acquire the self-confidence after he/she had achieved what they needed for psychological survival, safety and love and belonging. He claimed that satisfaction of self-esteem led to feelings of self-confidence that, once attained, led to a desire for "self-actualization." As material standards of most people rapidly rose in developed countries after World War II and fulfilled their materials needs, a plethora of widely cited academic research about confidence and many related self-esteem and self-efficacy emerged.

An individual's self-confidence can vary in different environments, such as at home or in school and with respect to relationships and situations. In relation to general society, some have found that the more self-confident as an individual is, the less likely they are to conform to the judgements of others. Leon Festinger found that self-confidence in an individuals ability may only rise or fall where that individual is able to compare themselves to others who are roughly similar in a competitive environment. Furthermore, when individuals with low self-confidence receive feedback from others, they are averse to receiving information about their relative ability and negative feedback and not averse to receiving positive feedback.

People with high self-confidence can easily impress others, as others perceive them as more knowledgeable and more likely to make correct judgements, despite the fact often a negative correlation is sometimes found between the level of their self-confidence and accuracy of their claims. When people are uncertain and unknowledgeable about a topic, they are more likely to believe the testimony and follow the advice of those that seem self-confident. However, expert psychological testimony on the factors that influence eyewitness memory appears to reduce juror reliance on the self-confidence. A heterosexual man who exhibits greater self-confidence than other men are more likely to attract single and partnered women.

Taken over-confidence can cause problems as evidenced by the famous author Matthew Syed and mentioned here in this reference in regard to sport. Motivation theories have suggested that successful performance hinges on both skill and will. Yet, even a motivated and skilled individual can fail to perform if he/she does not have personal certainty belief that she/he can handle what needs to be done.

Low self-confidence makes it less likely that a person will initiate action and more likely that a person will disengage because they doubt they can't handle what needs to be done. Even with skill and motivation, without confidence, goals are not likely to be met. In certain fields of medical practice patients experience a lack of self-confidence during the recovery period. For example, this can be the case after stroke whereby the patients refrain from using the weaker lower limb due to fear of it not being strong enough to hold their weight whilst standing or walking.