Albert Bandura’s Perspective

Overview of Social Cognitive Theory

…is rooted in a view of human agency in whichindividuals are agents proactively engaged in theirown development and can make things happen bytheir actions.People are :self-organizing proactive self-reflecting self-regulating rather than as reactive organisms

shaped by environmental forces or driven by impulses (behaviorism)

Social Cognition

How individuals interpret the results of their own behavior not only informs, but also alters their environments and the personal factors they possess which, in turn, inform and alter subsequent behavior.

The view that (a) personal characteristics (b) behavioral patterns, and (c) environmental factors create interactions that result in a triadic reciprocality.

Reciprocal Determinism

Bandura believes that many occurrences in our lives are accidental; however, they are not uncontrollable.

Life experiences, biology, and the environment, shape our responses to these fortuitous experiences.

“It is the way in which people take advantage of opportunity structures and manage constraints under the prevailing sociocultural conditions that make the difference” (Bandura, p.2, 2001).

Insight into Free Will and Determinism

Human Agency definedThere are four core characteristics of human

agency including: 1) Intentionality - action plans and strategies2) Forethought – setting goals and predicting

outcomes3) Self-regulation – regulate and monitor

personal standards4) Self-reflection – reflect on personal efficacy,

evaluates effectiveness of strategies, and makes necessary changes accordingly.

Agentic Philosophy

Self-efficacy is an individuals beliefs about how well they can accomplish a certain task. It plays a role in motivation and behavior of an individual.

It is believed that through the development of self-efficacy, students may be able to control their learning and bolster their own academic success independent of the quality of school they attend.

Self-efficacy

It has been shown that the choices made in an individual’s life during his or her formative years shapes, or determines, the course of their lives.

Therefore, one can maintain (and this is confirmed via research conducted by Bandura and colleagues) that the development, or lack of development of personal efficacy, impacts a persons future.

Self-efficacy as a determinate

Remember the four characteristics of Agency? To what extent is free will a part of these characteristics?

*Self-regulatory agency: individuals proactively choose and respond to goals and change

them accordingly.Individuals create their environments. They do

not simply react to them.

Free Will from Agentic Perspective

Are our actions predetermined for us or do we truly have choices regarding our behavior?

Do we have control over conditions that affect our lives? Is this constant throughout all cultures?

Let's discuss!