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.

提出并测试了基于代理的模型。该模型旨在模拟Bandura（Am Psychol 37：122–147，1982; Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 50：248–287; Annu Rev Psychol 52：1–26）社会认知理论中所概念化的代理。社会认知理论已被用来解释女性在某些领域的代表性不足，尤其是与工程和技术相关的领域。该理论提出，代理人从四个不同的来源获取信息，然后，通过相互互动的过程，这些代理人发展出对自我效能的感知。在这项研究中，基于代理的模型用于建模此交互。模拟的输出支持所用模型的有效性，并说明了代理如何从三重互动中“出现”。该模型成功模拟了社会认知理论的几个理论方面。仿真结果表明，即使性别差异很小，在某些领域也可能导致女性失实。该模型还表明，在女性代表性不足的情况下，女性的挫败感要比男性的鼓励更大。讨论了这些结果的含义。最后，讨论了模型的局限性以及未来研究的方向。