Author Biography ix

Foreword xi

Preface xxiii

1 A Psychology of Human Agency 1

On Agency and "Free Will" 2

Nonagentic Approaches in Contemporary Psychology 2

Agency, Consciousness, and the Brain 3

Core Properties of Human Agency 6

Forethought 6

Self-Reactiveness 6

Self-Reflection 7

Three Modes of Human Agency 8

Causal Processes: Triadic Codetermination 9

Triadic Codetermination and Determinism 11

The Development of Agency 13

Self as Agent 13

Construction of Selfhood 14

Self Identity 15

Agency in Diverse Cultural Settings 16

The Growing Primacy of Human Agency in Diverse Spheres of Life 19

Growing Primacy of Human Agency in the Process of Coevolution 22

Human Agency and the Field of Psychology 25

2 Social Modeling and Psychological Processes of Observational Learning 27

Differentiation of Modeling Phenomena 29

"Imitation" and "Identification" 29

Modeling 30

Prior Explanatory Accounts of Modeling Phenomena 33

Social Cognitive Theory of Observational Learning 34

Attentional Processes 35

Retention Processes 37

Motoric Reproduction Processes 40

Motivational Processes 41

Theoretical Contrasts 43

Scope of Modeling Influences 45

Language Acquisition 46

Moral Judgment 48

Gender Development 48

Aggression 49

Vicarious Affective Learning 51

3 Perceived Self-Efficacy as a Foundation of Agency 53

Exercise of Agency Through Self-Belief of Efficacy 53

Concepualizing Self-Efficacy Beliefs 54

From Self-Efficacy to Action: A Multiprocess Analysis 55

Selection Processes 55

Cognitive Processes 57

Motivational Processes 58

Affective Processes 60

Self-Efficacy Causality 64

Meta-Analytic Results 64

Altering Self-Efficacy Beliefs Directly, Without Enactive Experience 65

Relating Self-Efficacy Beliefs to Future Performance While Controlling for Past Performance 69

On Self-Efficacy Scales 73

Boosting Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Sources of Self-Efficacy Information 76

Performance Accomplishments 76

Vicarious Experiences 76

Verbal Persuasion 77

Emotional Arousal and Somatic State 77

Organizational Effectiveness 78

Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Cognitive Performance Among Older Adults 80

4 Shaping One's Future through Self-Regulation 83

Three Broad Classes of Motivation 84

Goal-Directed Action, Goal Effects, and Goal Theory 86

Goal Specificity 86

Goal Challenge 87

Distal and Proximal Goals 88

Self-Referent Processes in Goal Motivation 89

Affective Self-Evaluative Reactions 89

Perceived Self-Efficacy 89

Self-Set Goals 90

Documenting the Engagement of Self-Influences in Goal Motivation 91

Goal Properties and the Differential Engagement of Self-Processes 95

Affective Consequences of Goal Discrepancies 100

Self-Regulatory Processes, Education, and Occupational Opportunities 103

Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Aspirations, and Career Trajectories 103

Aspirational Standards, Achievement Motives, and External Incentives 104

Concluding Comment 106

5 Morality and the Disengagement of Moral Standards 107

Stage Theories of Moral Reasoning 108

Hierarchical Moral Superiority 109

Evaluating the Claims of Stage Theories 112

Social Foundations of Moral Standards 114

Multifaceted Nature of Moral Judgment and Action 116

Cognitive Conflict as the Automotivator for Change 117

Moral Judgment As Application of Multidimensional Rules 121

Relation Between Moral Reasoning and Conduct 123

Self-Regulatory Mechanisms in Moral Agency 124

Psychological Subfunctions in the Self-Regulation of Moral Conduct 124

Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Moral Conduct 125

Interplay Between Personal and Social Sanctions 126

Selective Activation and Disengagement of Moral Standards 128

Moral Justification 128

Euphemistic Labeling 130

Advantageous Comparison 130

Displacement and Diffusion of Responsibility 131

Disregard or Distortion of Consequences 132

Dehumanization 133

Assessing the Set of Moral Disengagement Mechanisms 133

Power of Humanization 134

6 Applying Science for Human Betterment 135

Social Cognitive Theory and Health Promotion 135

Health Promotion Systems Founded on Self-Regulation Principles 136

Health Promotion through Self-Management 137

Self-Management of Chronic Diseases 140

Internet-Based Health Promotion Systems 141

Macrosocial Applications Addressing Urgent Global Problems 142

Televised Modeling for Society-Wide Change 143

Cultural and Value Analyses 144

Elements of Enabling Serials 145

Global Applications 146

Modification of Consummatory Lifestyles 151

Concluding Remarks 152

References 153

Author Index 193

Subject Index 203

Social Cognitive Theory

An Agentic Perspective on Human Nature