Final answer:
Albert Bandura proposed that personality is shaped through a concept called reciprocal determinism. This concept is part of the broader social-cognitive theory, and it suggests that personal factors, behaviors, and environmental context interact and influence each other to shape an individual's personality.
Step-by-step explanation:
Albert Bandura's contribution to personality psychology includes the concept of reciprocal determinism, as part of his social-cognitive theory. Reciprocal determinism is the idea that our personality is shaped by the continuous, bi-directional interactions between our cognition (thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes), our behaviors, and the environmental context. Unlike B. F. Skinner's behaviorism, which emphasizes the environment's role in shaping behavior, reciprocal determinism accounts for human cognition and the personal influence we exert on our surroundings.
Bandura asserted that our behavior, cognitive processes (like self-efficacy), and situational context all influence each other. Cognitive processes include our learned characteristics, such as beliefs and personality traits. Behavior encompasses our actions that could be subject to rewards or punishments, while context refers to the environmental or situational elements that influence these behaviors. Together, these elements of reciprocal determinism demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of personality development and learning that accounts for both the influence of the environment and personal factors like cognition and self-efficacy.