ABSTRACT: The present article examines the nature and function of human agency within the conceptual model of triadic reciprocal causation. In analyzing the operation of human agency in this interactional causal structure, social cognitive theory accords a central role to cognitive, vicarious, self-reflective, and self-regulatory processes. The issues addressed concern the psychological mechanisms through which personal agency is exercised, the hierarchical structure of self-regulatory systems, eschewal of the dichotomous construal of self as agent and self as object, and the properties of a nondualistic but nonreductional conception of human agency. The relation of agent causality to the fundamental issues of freedom and determinism is also analyzed. The recent years have witnessed a resurgence of interest

and Creative Modeling Modeling is not simply a process of response mimicry as commonly believed. Modeled judgments and actions may differ in specific content but embody the same rule. For example, a model may deal with moral dilemmas that differ widely in the nature of the activity but apply the same moral standard to them. Modeled activities thus convey rules for generative and innovative behavior. This higher level learning is achieved through abstract modeling. Once observers extract the rules underlying the modeled activities they can generate new behaviors that go beyond what they have seen or heard. Creativeness rarely springs entirely from individual inventiveness. A lot of modeling goes on in creativity. By refining preexisting innovations, synthesizing them into new ways and adding novel elements to them something new is created. When exposed to models of differing styles of thinking and behaving, observers vary in what they adopt from the different sources and thereby create ...

The role of action has been strongly emphasized, not only in cognitive research on learning and problem solving, but also in education and instructional psychology. The Constructivism tradition has long asserted that action plays a crucial role for learners in constructing their own knowledge. In an educational context, active engagement entails students examining their own ideas, considering alternative explanations for newly taught concepts, and evaluating competing perspectives. Some theorists (e.g., Anzai & Simon, 1979) propose that these processes are found when learning is by doing. However, a constructivist perspective implies that instructional formats enable self-monitoring (e.g., Covington, 2000; Pintrich & De Groot, 1990), which includes reflective activities such as describing, explaining, and evaluative thinking (e.g., Covington, 2000; Zimmerman, 1990), which are not exclusive to action. The present article discusses findings that concern two related and thus far, unexplored two questions: How affective is observation-based learning in a complex skill learning task that usually requires processes that involve active engagement with it? How does monitoring affect the transfer of problem solving ability in complex skill learning task? The first aim of the article is to introduce ways of using common educational tools like the self-observation technique, which involves re-exposing individuals to their own self-generated behaviors, in novel ways that can provides insight into how people use self-regulatory mechanisms like monitoring on internally represented behaviors. The second aim is provide support for the view that in the absence of active learning, learning indirectly (i.e. Observation-based learning) is a practical and in some cases necessary method of knowledge and skill acquisition, and does not in turn lead to decrements in acquired knowledge and skill. Finally, the article presents the argument that the degree of self-monitoring that takes place may be a mediating factor in preserving the view that action has a special status in knowledge acquisition.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a measure of computer self-efficacy, administer this measure to obtain baseline data at the start of a course on Information Technology (IT), and to describe the IT course for Year 8 in one secondary school. An online questionnaire administered at the beginning of the IT semester-length course, gathered information pertaining to the students’ background, prior computer experience, comfortableness with using computers, and their attitudes towards computers. During the course, observations were made in the six Year 8 IT classrooms under study. This paper reports a work in progress. The principal focus is on the selection and development of research instruments, the administration of the online questionnaire, the analysis of the student data at the start of the course, and the description of the classroom observations. Preliminary analysis suggests the measure of computer self-efficacy adopted in the study is an effective tool. Computer self-efficacy, computer attitudes, online questionnaire, information technology

We test whether specific, challenging goals increase risk taking. We propose that goals serve as reference points, creating a region of perceived losses for outcomes below a goal (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979; Tversky & Kahneman, 1992). According to the Prospect Theory value function, decision makers become more risk seeking in the domain of losses. In three experiments we compared a "do your best" condition with a "specific, challenging goal" condition. The goal condition increased risky behavior in a skill task, financial decisions, and bargaining. The discussion considers additional implications of the reference point perspective as well as the relationship between goal-induced risk taking and innovation. Goal-Induced Risk Taking 3 Goal-Induced Risk Taking in Strategy Choice One of the most widely-documented findings in psychology is that goals improve task performance (Locke & Latham, 1990). In general, having a specific, challenging goal increases effort and persistence compared to ...

This study examined the impact of the University of North Carolina Greensboro’s Strategies for Academic Success (SAS 100) program on the self-efficacy and academic achievement of students on academic probation. The Student Strategies for Success Survey, an instrument based upon Samejima’s Graded Response Model, was used to collect data from 279 participants in a pre/post manner. The results showed a significant difference between participants ’ pre- and post-scores, indicating improved levels of

Complex dynamic control tasks (CDC tasks) are a type of problem-solving environment used for examining many cognitive activities (e.g., attention, control, decision making, hypothesis testing, implicit learning, memory, monitoring, planning, and problem solving). Because of their popularity, there have been many findings from diverse domains of research (Economics, Engineering, Ergonomics, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Management, Psychology), which remain largely disconnected from each other. The objective of this article is to review theoretical developments and empirical work on CDC tasks, and to introduce a novel framework (Monitoring and Control framework) as a tool for integrating theory and findings. The main thesis of the Monitoring and Control framework is that CDC tasks are characteristically uncertain environments, and subjective judgments of uncertainty guide the way in which monitoring and control behaviors attempt to reduce it. The article concludes by discussing new insights into continuing debates and future directions for research on CDC tasks.

We test whether specific, challenging goals increase risk taking. We propose that goals serve as reference points, creating a region of perceived losses for outcomes below a goal (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979; Tversky & Kahneman, 1992). According to the Prospect Theory value function, decision makers become more risk seeking in the domain of losses. In three experiments we compared a “do your best ” condition with a “specific, challenging goal” condition. The goal condition increased risky behavior in a skill task, monetary gambles, and bargaining. The discussion considers additional implications of the reference point perspective as well as the relationship between goal-induced risk taking and innovation. Goal-Induced Risk Taking 3 Goal-Induced Risk Taking in Strategy Choice One of the most widely-documented findings in psychology is that goals improve task performance (Locke & Latham, 1990). In general, having a specific, challenging goal increases effort and persistence compared to a vague intention, such as “doing one’s best. ” Although the effectiveness of goals is undisputed, some researchers have been concerned with identifying boundary conditions and unintended consequences of goal setting. For example, researchers