fei75766_ch17_534-568.indd 550  02/24/20 10:49 AM
Part VI    Learning-Cognitive Theories550
reduce environmental pollution, hazardous working conditions, orthethreat of
infectious disease. 
Bandura (1998b) pointed outthatdifferent cultures havedifferent levels of
collective efficacy andwork more productively under different systems. Forexample, 
people intheUnited States, anindividualistic culture, feelgreater self-efficacy and
work bestunder anindividually oriented system, whereas people inChina, acollectiv -
istculture, feelgreater collective efficacy andwork bestunder agroup-oriented system.
Bandura (1997, 1998b, 2001) listsseveral factors thatcanundermine collec -
tiveefficacy. First, humans liveinatransnational world; what happens inonepart
oftheglobe canaffect people inother countries, giving them asense ofhelplessness. 
Destruction oftheAmazon rainforests, international trade policies, ordepletion of
theozone layers, forexample, canaffect thelivesofpeople everywhere andunder -
mine theirconfidence toshape abetter world forthemselves. 
Second, recent technology thatpeople neither understand norbelieve thatthey
cancontrol maylower theirsense ofcollective efficacy. Inpastyears, many motorists, 
forexample, hadconfidence intheirability tokeeptheircarinrunning condition. 
With theadvent ofcomputerized controls inmodern automobiles, many moderately 
skilled mechanics notonlyhavelostpersonal efficacy forrepairing theirvehicle but
alsohavelowcollective efficacy forreversing thetrend toward more andmore com-
plicated automobiles. 
Athird condition undermining collective efficacy isthecomplex social machin -
ery,withlayers ofbureaucracy thatprevent social change. People whoattempt to
change bureaucratic structures areoften discouraged byfailure orbythelonglapse of
timebetween theiractions andanynoticeable change. Having become discouraged, 
many people, “rather thandeveloping themeans forshaping theirownfuture, ...
grudgingly relinquish control totechnical specialists andtopublic officials” (Ban -
dura, 1995, p.37).
Fourth, thetremendous scope andmagnitude ofhuman problems canunder -
mine collective efficacy. Wars, famine, overpopulation, crime, andnatural disasters 
arebutafewoftheglobal problems thatcanleave people withasense ofpower -
lessness. Despite these hugetransnational problems, Bandura believes thatpositive 
changes arepossible ifpeople willpersevere withtheircollective efforts andnot
become discouraged. 
Taking aworldwide view, Bandura (2000) concluded that“asglobalization 
reaches everdeeper intopeople’s lives, aresilient sense ofshared efficacy becomes 
critical tofurthering theircommon interests” (p.78).
Self-Regulation
When people havehighlevels ofself-efficacy, areconfident intheirreliance onproxies, 
andpossess solidcollective efficacy, theywillhaveconsiderable capacity toregulate 
theirownbehavior. Bandura (1994) believes thatpeople usebothreactive andproactive 
strategies forself-regulation. Thatis,theyreactively attempt toreduce thediscrepancies 
between theiraccomplishments andtheirgoal;butaftertheyclose those discrepan -
cies,theyproactively setnewer andhigher goals forthemselves. “People motivate and
guide theiractions through proactive control bysetting themselves valued goals that
create astateofdisequilibrium andthenmobilizing theirabilities andeffort based onFinal PDF to printer