Social cognitive theory is founded on an agentic perspective. This article reviews the core features of human agency and the individual, proxy, and collective forms in which it is exercised. Agency operates through a triadic codetermination process of causation. Knowledge from this line of theorizing is widely applied to effect individual and social change, including worldwide applications that address some of the most urgent global problems.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AjzenA.FishbeinM. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
2.
BanduraA. (1969). Principles of behavior modification. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
3.
BanduraA. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
4.
BanduraA. (1991a). Self-regulation of motivation through anticipatory and self-reactive mechanisms. In DienstbierR. A. (Ed.), Perspectives on motivation: Nebraska symposium on motivation (Vol. 38, pp. 69–164). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
5.
BanduraA. (1991b). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In KurtinesW. M.GewirtzJ. L. (Eds.), Handbook of moral behavior and development (Vol. 1, pp. 45–103). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
6.
BanduraA. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: Freeman.
7.
BanduraA. (1999.) A social cognitive theory of personality. In PervinL.JohnO. (Eds.), Handbook of personality (2nd ed., pp.154–196). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
8.
BanduraA. (2000). Exercise of human agency through collective efficacy. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 75–78. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.00064
9.
BanduraA. (2002a). Growing primacy of human agency in adaptation and change in the electronic era. European Psychologist, 7, 2–16.
10.
BanduraA. (2002b). Social cognitive theory in cultural context. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 51, 269–290.
11.
BanduraA. (2004). Swimming against the mainstream: The early years from chilly tributary to transformative mainstream. Behavioral Research and Therapy, 42, 613–630.
12.
BanduraA. (2006a). Autobiography. In LindzeyM. G.RunyanW. M. (Eds.), A history of psychology in autobiography (Vol. 9, pp. 42–75). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
13.
BanduraA. (2006b). Going global with social cognitive theory: From prospect to paydirt. In DonaldsonS. I.BergerD. E.PezdekK. (Eds.), Applied psychology: New frontiers and rewarding careers (pp. 53–79). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
14.
BanduraA. (2006c). Guide to construction of self-efficacy scales. In PajaresF.UrdanT. (Eds.), Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (Vol. 5, pp. 307–337). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
15.
BanduraA. (2017). Manual for constructing moral disengagement scales. Stanford, CA: Stanford University.
16.
BanduraA. (2008). The reconstrual of “free will” from the agentic perspective of social cognitive theory. In BaerJ.KaufmanJ. C.BaumeisterR. F. (Eds.), Are we free? Psychology and free will (pp. 86–127). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
17.
BanduraA. (2012). On the functional properties of self-efficacy revisited. Journal of Management, 38, 9–44.
18.
BanduraA. (2015). On deconstructing commentaries regarding alternative theories of personality. Journal of Management, 41, 1025–1044.
19.
BanduraA. (2016). Moral disengagement: How people do harm and live with themselves. New York, NY: Worth.
20.
BanduraA.LockeE. (2003). Negative self-efficacy and goal effects revisited. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 87–99.
21.
LockeE. A.LathamG. P. (2013). New developments in goal setting and task performance. New York, NY: Routledge.
22.
McCraeR. R.CostaP. T.Jr. (1999). A five-factor theory of personality. In PervinL.JohnO. (Eds.), Handbook of personality (2nd ed., pp. 139–153). New York: Guilford Press.
23.
MischelW.ShodaY. (1999). Integrating dispositions and processing dynamicswith a unified theory of personality: The cognitive-affective personality system. In PervinL.JohnO. (Eds.), Handbook of personality (2nd ed., pp. 197–218). New York: Guilford Press.
24.
MurrayH. A.KluckhohnC. (1953). Personality in nature, society, and culture. New York, NY: Knopf.
25.
PajaresF.UrdanT. (Eds.). (2006). Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents. Greenwich, CT: Information Age.