Agency: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:45, 19 May 2023

Human agency represents the power each individual possesses to shape their own life and influence their surroundings through deliberate actions. It involves envisioning a desired future, crafting a plan to reach it, and actively making decisions that propel toward these goals. Despite the challenges that the environment may present, an agentic person can assert their will and maintain control over their life's direction.

Four critical elements underpin this concept:

Intentionality refers to the creation of specific plans and strategies to attain set goals.
Forethought is the capacity to anticipate and plan for future situations.
Self-reactiveness speaks to the proactive nature of agency, emphasizing active engagement rather than passive response to circumstances.
Self-reflection encapsulates the importance of introspection and learning from past actions and decisions.

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-Bandura (2009a) defined human agency as “the human capability to exert influence over one’s functioning and the course of events by one’s actions” (p. 8). “Through cognitive self-guidance, humans can visualize futures that act on the present; construct, evaluate, and modify alternative courses of action to gain valued outcomes; and override environmental influences” (p. 8). “To be an agent is to influence intentionally one’s functioning and life circumstances” (Bandura, 2008c, p. 16).
+Human agency represents the power each individual possesses to shape their own life and influence their surroundings through deliberate actions. It involves envisioning a desired future, crafting a plan to reach it, and actively making decisions that propel toward these goals. Despite the challenges that the environment may present, an agentic person can assert their will and maintain control over their life's direction.
-Four core properties of human agency were described in Bandura (2006b, pp. 164-165) They are (a) intentionality, (b) forethought, (c) self-reactiveness, and (d) self-reflection. Intentionality deals with the forming of intentions that “include action plans and strategies for realizing them” (Bandura, 2009a, p. 8). [https://principlesoflearning.wordpress.com/dissertation/chapter-3-literature-review-2/the-human-perspective/an-agentic-theory-of-the-self-bandura-1997/ Source]
+Four critical elements underpin this concept:
+* '''Intentionality''' refers to the creation of specific plans and strategies to attain set goals.
+* '''Forethought''' is the capacity to anticipate and plan for future situations.
+* '''Self-reactiveness''' speaks to the proactive nature of agency, emphasizing active engagement rather than passive response to circumstances.
+* '''Self-reflection''' encapsulates the importance of introspection and learning from past actions and decisions.
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