Self-confidence is a complex concept that has been studied in psychology using a variety of theoretical approaches. Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, for example, contends that self-confidence is developed through personal experiences of success, observation of others’ success, verbal persuasion, and emotional stimulation. This theory is concerned with the external factors that influence self-confidence. Weiner’s Causal Attribution Theory, which focuses on how people attribute success and failure to themselves, is another important theory. People who attribute their success to an internal factor, such as personal ability, have higher self-confidence, whereas those who attribute their failure to an internal factor have lower self-confidence. Festinger’s Social Comparison Theory contends that people develop self-confidence by comparing themselves to others. People who compare themselves to others and notice that they are doing better than most have higher self-confidence, whereas people who compare themselves to others and notice that they are doing worse than most have lower self-confidence. All of these theories provide unique perspectives on how self-confidence develops. It is critical to understand in clinical practice that self-confidence is a complex construct influenced by a variety of internal and external factors, and that theoretical approaches can provide a better understanding of how these factors influence an individual’s self-confidence.