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Part VI    Learning-Cognitive Theories566
experiences. Human agency suggests that people who have high personal 
and collective efficacy and who make efficient use of proxies have a great 
amount of influence on their own actions. However, some people have more 
freedom than others because they are more adept at regulating their own 
behavior. Bandura (1986) defined freedom as “the number of options available 
to people and their right to exercise them” (p. 42). Personal freedom, then, is 
limited; it is restricted by physical constraints such as laws, prejudices, regula -
tions, and the rights of other people. In addition, personal factors such as 
perceived inefficacy and lack of confidence restrict individual freedom. 
On the issue of causality or teleology , Bandura’s position would be 
described as moderate. Human functioning is a product of environmental factors 
interacting with behavior and personal variables, especially cognitive activity. 
People move with a purpose toward goals that they have set, but motivation 
exists in neither the past nor the future; it is contemporary. Although future 
events cannot motivate people, people’s conception of the future can and 
does regulate present behavior.
Social cognitive theory emphasizes conscious thought over unconscious 
determinants of behavior. Self-regulation of actions relies on self-monitoring, 
judgment, and self-reaction, all of which are ordinarily conscious during the 
learning situation. “People do not become thoughtless during the learning 
process. They make conscious judgments about how their actions affect the 
environment” (Bandura, 1986, p. 116). After learnings are well established, 
especially motor learnings, they may become unconscious. People do not 
have to be aware of all their actions while walking, eating, or driving a car.
Bandura (2001) believes that the division of biological and social factors  
is a false dichotomy. Although people are limited by biological forces, they have 
a remarkable plasticity. Their social environments allow them a wide range of 
behaviors, including using other people as models. Each person lives in a num -
ber of social networks and is thus influenced by a variety of people. Modern 
technology in the form of the World Wide Web and the media facilitates the 
spread of social influences.
Because people have a remarkable flexibility and capacity for learning, 
vast individual differences exist among them. Bandura’s emphasis on unique -
ness,  however, is moderated by biological and social influences, both of 
which contribute to some similarities among people.
Key Terms and Concepts
•Observational learning allows people tolearn without performing abehavior.
•Observational learning requires (1)attention toamodel, (2)organization 
andretention ofobservations, (3)behavioral production, and(4)motivation to
perform themodeled behavior. 
•Enactive learning takes place when ourresponses produce consequences. Final PDF to printer