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.

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is an interpersonal level theory developed by Albert Bandura that emphasizes the dynamic interaction between people (personal factors), their behavior, and their environments.

An agentic theory specifies the mechanisms by which people come to live in accordance with moral standards. In social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986, 1991b), moral reasoning is translated into actions through self-regulatory mechanisms rooted in moral standards and self-sanctions by which moral agency is exercised.

The central premise of social cognitive theory is reciprocal determinism, which is the interaction of person, environment, and behavior. Person, environment, and behavior continuously interact. A person's behavior is shaped by observing the people around them and their perceptions of the environment.