certain variables through which persons may exercise agency (for
example, Goodman, 1994; Krumboltz & Nichols, 1990).
A second area of difference involves the way in which SCCT
conceptualizes causal influences. Trait- and typology-based theories
tend to take what may be described as partially bidirectionalpositions
on causality, that is, they conceive of persons and environments as
influencing one another, but they view behavior largely as an out-
come of the person-environment transaction (B = f [P E]). By con-
trast, Bandura’s position elevates the role of behavior to that of a
co-determinant of the causal exchange, arguing that it is primarily
through their overt actions that people “influence the situations
that, in turn, affect their thoughts, affect, and [subsequent] behav-
ior” (Bandura, 1982, p. 4).
To recognize the mutual, interacting influences among persons,
their environments, and behavior, SCCT subscribes to Bandura’s
triadic-reciprocal,or fully bidirectional, model of causality (Bandura,
1986). In this scheme, the following operate as interlocking mech-
anisms that affect one another bidirectionally:
- Personal attributes,such as internal cognitive and affective
states, and physical characteristics - External environmental factors
- Overt behavior(as distinct from internal and physical qualities
of the person)
Within this triadic system, people become both “products and
producers of their environment” (Wood & Bandura, 1989, p. 362),
with the potential for self-regulation.
Key Theoretical Constructs
In conceptualizing the personaldeterminants of career development
within the triadic causal system, SCCT incorporates three cen-
tral variables from general social cognitive theory: (1) self-efficacy,
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