ABSTRACT
Despite the emphasis that James (1892/2001) placed on the self as a key determinant of thought and action, the dominant psychological theories of the first half of the twentieth century relegated self as agent to the sidelines. To the psychoanalysts, human functioning was explained as the result of concealed inner impulses. To the behaviorists, internal influences were banished as causal agents altogether; the sole focus was on environmental contingencies as both causes and reinforcers of behavior. Not until the second half of the twentieth century was self reintroduced as an important determinant of individual functioning, growth, and health, this time by humanistic psychologists (e.g., Maslow, 1968; Rogers, 1947) and social cognitive theorists (e.g., Bandura, 1986).
