When People Are Not Aiming For Anything

Social Cognitive Theory Rejects The Dichotomous Conception Of Self As Agent And Self As Object. Acting On The Environment And Acting On Oneself Entail Shifting The Perspective Of The Same Agent Rather Than Reifying Different Selves Regulating Each Other Or Transforming The Self From Agent To Object

Many People Who Gain Recognition And Fame Shape Their Lives By Overcoming Seemingly Insurmountable Obstacles, Only To Be Catapulted Into New Social Realities Over Which They Have Less Control And Manage Badly. Indeed, The Annals Of The Famous And Infamous Are Strewn With Individuals Who Were Both Architects And Victims Of Their Life Courses.

People Behave Agentically, But They Produce Theories That Afford People Very Little Agency.

It Is No More Informative To Speak Of Self-efficacy In Global Terms Than To Speak Of Nonspecific Social Behavior

When Experience Contradicts Firmly Held Judgments Of Self-efficacy, People May Not Change Their Beliefs About Themselves If The Conditions Of Performance Are Such As To Lead Them To Discount The Import Of The Experience