Albert Bandura

"How do otherwise considerate human beings do cruel things and still live in peace with themselves? Drawing on his agentic theory, Dr. Bandura provides a definitive exposition of the psychosocial mechanism by which people selectively disengage their moral self-sanctions from their harmful conduct. They do so by sanctifying their harmful behavior as serving worthy causes; they absolve themselves of blame for the harm they cause by displacement and...

Adolescents' beliefs in their personal control affect their psychological well-being and the direction of their lives. Self-efficacy in Changing Societies analyzes the diverse ways in which beliefs of personal efficacy operate within a network of socio-cultural influences to shape life paths. The chapters, by internationally known experts, cover such matters as development of personal agency in infancy, competency through the life span, and the role...