The process of identifying self-efficacy & the empowerment of verbal persuasion

Self-efficacy is the expectation one has for given tasks. It’s the individual capacity one believes he/she has to navigate life’s circumstances. Further, it is the ability to cope well in distressful situations. Self-efficacy is a skill and belief system developed from past experiences, observations, conversations, and physiological cues such as sweating palms, racing heart, and faintness of breath. Self-efficacy can also be seen as a reflective practice to check in with self to organize and assess the potential implications of a task based on personal belief of success, belief of failure, and value of engagement. In Love Jones, we can see Nina’s sense of self-efficacy in her esteem, her peers, romantic relationships, and career. Nina’s motivation is pretty consistent; however, it fluctuates throughout the movie through her dating relationships. With Marvin, she was motivated by the fear of failure– another failed relationship, “never make the same mistake twice: falling in love, and that love is played out like an eight-track.” We see this consistency even at the Bluez lounge with her interaction with Darius. While she may flirt back with him and engage in conversation, we can also observe her reluctance/firmness to remain guarded. As Darius would call it, the possibility of love/romance was a thought of Nina’s; however, she was not willing to bet it all on the possibility just yet. Has Nina exhausted the possibility? No. Nina is reluctant and exhausted, but she hasn't exhausted her nature of experiencing love, even in her fear. Her self-efficacy changes over time as new experiences arise, even if they pose emotional threats familiar from her past. Despite the familiar threats to her goal of not being a fool to love, she gets closure with her ex, Marvin, and dates Darius and Wood throughout the movie.

In each relationship, we see a different side to Nina and her goal of finding love but not being a fool to love. Nina’s self-efficacy influenced her goal striving over time through verbal persuasion by her friend Josie. Verbal persuasion is the temporal boost and provisional efficacy to generate motivation for continual effort or additional tries toward a goal. Josie, Nina’s best friend, persuades Nina to seek the closure she needs with her ex, Marvin, by visiting New York while also seeking the possibility of Nina and Darius continuing their “kickin-it’ escapades, even though they both are downplaying their true feelings for one another. Josie’s verbal persuasion motivates Nina to take authority over her love life. Nina’s personal behavior history also influences her self-efficacy at the time. Previously, her relationship with Marvin did not end as she thought. Instead, she found herself looking out the window of her empty apartment building; meanwhile, her ex, Marvin, was nowhere to be found. This experience influenced Nina’s perception of her ability to find love and actually be in it. Nina wonders if love is a game she must master to be successful or if all love feels like a lonely, empty apartment that once was filled. Conversations with Darius also served as verbal persuasion, creating an intellectual and physical bond through Darius’ persistence in pursuing Nina and the passion for creating poetry and photography between the two artists. As things progress between Darius and Nina, we see Nina process the efficacy expectations and outcome expectations of old wounds between Marvin, which could affect the current relationship dynamic between Darius. Nina’s efficacy expectations were centered on Can I Love Again? Nina’s outcome expectations were: If I go to New York for the interview with a photography agency, will it also work for Marvin and I to get back together? Additionally, If I go to New York to get closure and try things out with Marvin again, will this affect what Darius and I have? Nina’s efficacy and outcome expectations were high due to how quickly things were moving between her and Darius and the abrupt invitation to visit New York with Marvin and connect with the local photography agency to boost production in Nina’s career. Nina becomes empowered as her doubts and avoidance are replaced with efficacy and engagement. Her conversations with Darius and Marvin provide insight on what action she needs to take even if it was the least favorable.