ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways in which human action has been conceptualised within the social sciences, which broadly map on to long-standing debates regarding the roles of structure and agency in shaping social change. Three broad groups of theories are identified – the cognitive, contextual and practice paradigms – and their relative strengths and weaknesses discussed. In doing so, this chapter highlights the diversity of perspectives that researchers can call upon when examining topics such as sustainable behaviour and pro-environmental action. Whilst the chapter is organised to reflect ongoing debates within the social sciences, readers are cautioned against thinking in dichotomous terms. Instead, readers are encouraged to think of the different approaches within each paradigm as being plotted along a continuum according to whether they are more or less structural/agentic.
