The present study used meta-analytic techniques (number of samples � 92) to determine the patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course. Results showed that people increase in measures of social dominance (a facet of extraversion), conscientiousness, and emotional stability, especially in young adulthood (age 20 to 40). In contrast, people increase on measures of social vitality (a 2nd facet of extraversion) and openness in adolescence but then decrease in both of these domains in old age. Agreeableness changed only in old age. Of the 6 trait categories, 4 demonstrated significant change in middle and old age. Gender and attrition had minimal effects on change, whereas longer studies and studies based on younger cohorts showed greater change.

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The Information Systems (IS) discipline is facing a sharp downturn in student enrollments. Despite the steady decline in students pursuing the IS major, the demand for information technology (IT) professionals continues to increase. These trends indicate that there might be a shortage of qualified IT employees in the near future. In order to overcome this dilemma, academicians have recently begun to look for mechanisms targeted at improving IS enrollments. This study investigates how such a mechanism – IT sophistication – influences students ’ aspirations to pursue an IS degree. More specifically, the study suggests that IT sophistication, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interests are expected to independently and cumulatively affect students ’ choice of IS as their major. The data utilized to investigate this issue was collected from students enrolled in introductory IS courses at two large public universities. A total of 151 usable responses were obtained. The results indicate that the degree to which students perceive the IT to be sophisticated affects their aspiration to major in IS. Specifically, utilizing state-of-the art technologies that reflect current industry practices not only enhances students ’ confidence in their ability to successfully perform as an IS major, but also elevates students ’ expectations that valued rewards will be received by majoring in IS. In turn, strong self-efficacy and outcome expectations foster student

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Because of the influential role the mass media play in society, understanding the psychosocial mechanisms through which symbolic communication influences human thought, affect and action is of considerable import. Social cognitive theory provides an agentic conceptual framework within which to examine the determinants and mechanisms of such effects. Human behavior has often been explained in terms of unidirectional causation, in which behavior is shaped and controlled either by environmental influences or by internal dispositions. Social cognitive theory explains psychosocial functioning in terms of triadic reciprocal causation (Bandura, 1986). In this transactional view of self and society, personal factors in the form of cognitive, affective, and biological events; behavioral patterns; and environmental events all operate as interacting determinants that influence each other bidirectionally (Figure 1). Social cognitive theory is founded in an agentic perspective (Bandura, 1986; 2001a). People are self-organizing, proactive, self-reflecting, and self-regulating, not just reactive organisms shaped and shepherded by environmental events or inner forces. Human selfdevelopment, adaptation, and change are embedded in social systems. Therefore, personal agency operates within a broad network of sociostructural influences. In these agentic

ABSTRACT—This article presents an agentic theory of human development, adaptation, and change. The evolutionary emergence of advanced symbolizing capacity enabled humans to transcend the dictates of their immediate environment and made them unique in their power to shape their life circumstances and the courses their lives take. In this conception, people are contributors to their life circumstances, not just products of them. Social cognitive theory rejects a duality between human agency and social structure. People create social systems, and these systems, in turn, organize and influence people’s lives. This article discusses the core properties of human agency, the different forms it takes, its ontological and epistemological status, its development and role in causal structures, its growing primacy in the coevolution process, and its influential exercise at individual and collective levels across diverse spheres of life and cultural systems. Conceptions of human nature have changed markedly over time. In the early theological conceptions, human nature was ordained by original divine design. Evolutionism transformed the conception to one in which human nature is shaped by environmental pressures acting on random gene mutations and reproductive recombinations. This nonteleological process is devoid of deliberate plans or purposes. The symbolic ability to comprehend, predict, and alter the course of events confers considerable functional advantages. The evolutionary emergence of language and abstract and deliberative cognitive capacities provided the neuronal structure for supplanting aimless environmental selection with cognitive agency. Human forebears evolved into a sentient agentic species. Their advanced symbolizing capacity enabled humans to transcend the dictates of their immediate environment and made them unique in their power to shape their life circumstances and the course of their lives. Through cognitive self-regulation, humans can create Address correspondence to Albert Bandura, Department of Psychology,

Abstract The concept of self-efficacy is based on the triadic reciprocality model symbolising a three way reciprocal relationship between: (a) personal factors i.e. cognition, emotion, and biological events (b) behaviour and (c) environmental factors (Maddux, 1995). Cognition, emotion and behaviour are the domains of personality which form the basis of research in self-efficacy. Research has been extensive on the relationship between self-efficacy and performance attainment in academic settings. Self-report scales are common in the assessment of self-efficacy. Guidelines to construct scales to assess self-efficacy have been specified by Bandura (2001). These guidelines highlight the importance of developing self-report measures which are task specific, and take into consideration all three domains of self-efficacy and three levels within each domain. Suggestions to develop measures which are reliable and have content validity have been provided. The major aims of this present research were to assess students ’ self-efficacy in mathematics, and explore agency. Participants were from multi-cultural secondary schools in Auckland. A scale was developed incorporating New Zealand curriculum specific items in mathematics for Years 11, 12 & 13, and items on related constructs which impact on self-efficacy such as: (a) motivation strategies, (b) cognitive and metacognitive strategies, (c) resource management, (d) self-regulated learning, (e meeting others ’ expectations, and (f) self-assertiveness. A qualitative self-report measure was designed to explore self-efficacy and agency in students. This paper reports the findings from this research in-progress, and discusses the implications for student achievement.