fei75766_ch17_534-568.indd 541  02/24/20 10:49 AM
Chapter 17    Bandura: Social Cognitive Theory541
Triadic Reciprocal Causation
InChapter 16,wesawthatSkinner believed thatbehavior isafunction oftheenvi-
ronment; thatis,behavior ultimately canbetraced toforces outside theperson. As
environmental contingencies change, behavior changes. Butwhat impetus changes 
theenvironment? Skinner acknowledged thathuman behavior canexercise some 
measure ofcountercontrol overtheenvironment, butheinsisted that,inthefinal
analysis, behavior isenvironmentally determined. Other theorists, suchasGordon 
Allport (Chapter 12)andHans Eysenck (Chapter 14)emphasized theimportance of
traits orpersonal disposition inshaping behavior. Ingeneral, these theorists heldthat
personal factors interact withenvironmental conditions toproduce behavior.
Albert Bandura (1986, 1999b, 2001, 2002b) adopts quite adifferent stance. His
social cognitive theory explains psychological functioning interms oftriadic reciprocal 
causation. Thissystem assumes thathuman action isaresult ofaninteraction among 
three variables—environment, behavior, andperson. By“person” Bandura means 
largely, butnotexclusively, suchcognitive factors asmemory, anticipation, planning, 
andjudging. Because people possess andusethese cognitive capacities, theyhave
some capacity toselect ortorestructure theirenvironment: Thatis,cognition atleast
partially determines which environmental events people attend to,what value they
place onthese events, andhowtheyorganize these events forfuture use.Although 
cognition canhaveastrong causal effect onbothenvironment andbehavior, itisnot
anautonomous entity, independent ofthose twovariables. Bandura (1986) criticized 
those theorists whoattribute thecause ofhuman behavior tointernal forces suchas
instincts, drives, needs, orintentions. Cognition itself isdetermined, being formed by
bothbehavior andenvironment. 
Triadic reciprocal causation isrepresented schematically inFigure 17.1, 
where Bsignifies behavior; Eistheexternal environment; andPrepresents theper-
son,including thatperson’s gender, social position, size,andphysical attractiveness, 
butespecially cognitive factors suchasthought, memory, judgment, foresight, and
soon.
Bandura usestheterm“reciprocal” toindicate atriadic interaction offorces, 
notasimilar oropposite counteraction. Thethree reciprocal factors donotneed to
Behavior
Environmental
factorsPersonal factors
(Cognitive, aﬀective ,
and biological events)
FIGURE 17.1  Bandura’s concept of reciprocal causation. Human functioning is a product of 
the interaction of (B) behavior, (P) person variables, and (E) environment.
Source: Bandura, Albert, “Social Cognitive Theory andMass Communication.” InJ.Bryant &D.Zillmann (Eds.), 
Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research. Hillsdale, NJ:Erlbaum, 1992, p.62.Final PDF to printer