Albert Bandura (2001) rejected mechanistic input-output models because he thought they limited development to external factors shaping and controlling a mindless human organism. While he noted that the computer metaphor started to recognize the human as a cognitive organism, Bandura felt the computer metaphor "was still devoid of consciousness and agentic capabilities" (p. 2), asserting that "consciousness is the very substance of mental life that not only makes life personally manageable but worth living" (p. 3).

Bandura theorized that cognitive factors accurately predict human behavior. Navigating the challenges of life requires that people "make good judgments about their capabilities, anticipate the probable effects of different events and courses of action, size up socio-structural opportunities and constraints, and regulate their behavior accordingly" (p. 3). This belief system serves as a model of the world that helps the individual work towards desired outcomes while avoiding punishing consequences. Human survival and progress depend on "forethoughtful, generative, and reflective capabilities" (p. 3). Bandura's observations are important because they lead to social cognitive theory, which is a well-supported theory of development within the mechanistic perspective while focusing on the social context of behavior that is shared by both organicists and contextualists (Goldhaber, 2000).

Social learning theory states that people learn by watching others in a social setting and modeling the behaviors they think will lead to favorable outcomes, while avoiding behaviors they think may lead to punishing consequences. Organicists and contextualists agree with this focus on the social context of development, however, social cognitive theory approaches behavior change from a mechanistic perspective (Goldhaber, 2000).

Bandura (2007) represents behavior as a function of the person and the environment. Called "reciprocal determinism," this interaction among person, behavior, and environment demonstrates how the world and the person cause each other. In contrast, the behaviorist perspective asserts that the environment causes the person's behavior. Bandura focused on the cognitive processes involved in observing, saying the conditions necessary for learning include the processes of attention, retention, motor production, and motivation (Bandura, 2007; Goldhaber, 2000; Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007).

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