Social cognitive theory and women’s career choices: an agent—based model simulation

Abstract

An agent-based model is proposed and tested. This model aims to simulate agency as conceptualized in Bandura's (Am Psychol 37:122–147, 1982; Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 50:248–287; Annu Rev Psychol 52: 1–26) Social cognitive theory. Social cognitive theory has been used to explain the continued underrepresentation of females in certain fields, most notably fields that are associated with engineering and technology. The theory proposes that agents acquire information from four different sources, and then, through a process of reciprocal interaction, these agents develop their perception of self-efficacy. In this study, an agent-based model is used to model this interaction. The output from the simulation supports the validity of the model used and illustrates how agency "emerges" from the triadic interaction. The model successfully simulates several of the theorized aspects of social cognitive theory. The simulation results reveal that even small gendered differences can lead to female misrepresentation in certain fields. The model also shows that female discouragement plays a larger role than male encouragement in female underrepresentation. The implications of these results are discussed. Finally, the limitations of the model are discussed, along with directions for future research.

Examining relationships between chemistry anxiety, chemistry identity, and chemistry career choice in terms of gender: a comparative study using multigroup structural equation modelling

“…Based on the fact that chemistry anxiety was significantly correlated with chemistry identity, while chemistry identity was a significant predictor of students' career choices, the present study further verified the fully mediating role of chemistry identity between chemistry anxiety and chemistry career choice. This finding supports the argument of social cognitive theory and social cognitive career theory (SCCT) that the relationship between anxiety and career choice may be mediated by self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interest, which overlap with identity (Aydin et al, 2011;Mozahem, 2020;Luo et al, 2021).…”

Factors affecting entrepreneurial intention among the rural population in India

“…In this paper, we have attempted to evaluate the EI among the rural population using SCT, which is typically influenced by the interplay of environmental, individual and behavioural forces (Boudreaux et al , 2019; Schunk and DiBenedetto, 2020). Bandura’s SCT is primarily based on self-efficacy and outcome expectation of an individual from his/her actions (Wang et al , 2019; Mozahem, 2022). Self-efficacy is defined as people’s beliefs about their capabilities to achieve desired success from the interventions that affect their lives (Bandura, 2005).…”

The role of firms’ communication about eco-friendly products on social media and conventional media post-COVID-19

“…Secondly, extant literature has mainly applied SCT to individuals/buyers' behaviours (Mishra et al, 2021;Mozahem, 2022;Arain et al, 2021), and studies that have employed SCT to estimate environmentally-friendly product usage behaviour (e.g. Hu and Meng, 2023;Jahari et al, 2022).…”