While there is a lot of controversy surrounding Bandura's theories, the psychologist claims that people should be more interested in the social utility of his theories rather than wasting their time challenging their exactness (Bandura). The debates relating to Bandura's theories can be associated to the divergences between groups of behavioral theorists and groups of humanistic and cognitive theorists. The former support the belief that the individual is mainly influenced by the environment he/she inhabits while the latter consider that he/she acts on account of their own willpower.

I personally believe that people (especially those in the present) are influenced to a large degree by their environments. This is principally because of factors such as the media, the internet, and globalization in general. However, one's individuality is always noticeable, considering that all people are thought to be unique in their character. Thus, even though most people's personalities are presently shaped by the environments they live in,...

This was proved in numerous cases, as people who were believed to have no chances of succeeding in a certain matter managed to thrive because of their determination.
Depending on the conditions they find themselves in, people can even control their self-restraint, so as to make certain immoralities seem reasonable. People are concomitantly influenced by the environment and by themselves, even if their agentic character prevails in most occasions.

Works cited:

1. Bandura, Albert, "SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY: An Agentic Perspective," Retrieved August 25, 2010, from the Division of Education Studies Website: http://des.emory.edu/mfp/Bandura2001ARPr.pdf

2. Coles, Robert. Anna Freud: The Dream of Psychoanalysis (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1992).

3. Thurstone, L.L. & Jenkins, R.L. (1931). Order of Birth, Parent-Age, and Intelligence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.