A comprehensive perspective on human nature by one of the undisputed masters of the psychological sciences The final book by psychology's most eminent modern figure, Dr. Albert Bandura, is the definitive concise presentation of his theoretical views. In Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective on Human Nature, Bandura explains how his half-century of research and theory on the determinants of thought and action highlight people's capacity for agency: the ability to exert control over one's actions and the courses of one's development. He further explains how his basic theory and research have been applied, world-wide, for the betterment of the human condition. Readers will find: * A thorough introduction to the author's agentic-perspective on human nature * Dr. Bandura's theoretical analyses of moral behavior and moral disengagement * Applications of the basic principles of Social Cognitive Theory to personal and social change for human betterment An essential and groundbreaking resource for educational, health, and personality psychologists, Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective on Human Nature will also prove indispensable to social and industrial/organizational psychologists.