Social cognitive theory is a comprehensive theory of human agency that examines the interlinkages between persons, behaviors, and environments. From this perspective, human behavior is viewed as the result of the interplay between intrapsychic factors within individuals and the broad range of social environments that impinge on them: (a) those environments that are imposed on them, (b) those they select, and (c) those they create. This theory was systematically articulated by Albert Bandura in his 1986 book Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Social cognitive theory has been applied in a variety of areas, including clinical, counseling, and educational settings; family processes; aggressive behavior; gender development; and morality—in fact, in almost every area of human conduct. In its application in therapeutic ...

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