Social Cognitive Theory

ALBERT BANDURA, PhD (deceased), the most highly cited figure in contemporary psychology, was known internationally for his groundbreaking lines of research on observational learning, behavioral change, moral behavior, and self-efficacy, and for his Social Cognitive Theory of human nature. Daniel Cervone (Editor) is Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He earned his bachelor's degree at Oberlin College, and his Ph.D. at Stanford University, where his graduate advisor was Albert Bandura. In addition to his faculty position at UIC, Dan has been a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and a visiting faculty member at the University of Washington and Sapienza University of Rome. Dan is author of numerous journal and book publications in personality psychology and related fields, including Personality: Theory and Research, 15e (Cervone & Pervin, 2023; Wiley & Sons).

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