52 Examples of Human Agency

John Spacey, May 30, 2023

Human agency is the capacity of individuals to shape their own life and to influence the social world. This is an important element of sociology where some sociological perspectives such as conflict theory present the masses as having very little agency whereby they are hapless victims of power structures and the "elite." The following are common examples of human agency.

Acquiring and mastering skills	Acquiring experience such as work experience
Activism	Agent of change – pushing change forward
Building relationships	Challenging assumptions
Challenging norms	Choosing a career
Choosing a job	Collaborating
Cooperating	Debates in social media
Donating to charity	Engaging in competition
Engaging in debate	Exercising rights and freedoms
Forming theories	Getting an education
Improving performance	Improving your lifestyle
Influencing at work	Influencing strategy, decisions and policy
Initiating change	Inventing new value
Leading	Making friends
Personal choices	Political donations
Producing media	Promoting a cause
Promoting an idea	Promotions at work
Protests	Public speaking
Purchasing choices	Pursuing hobbies and interests
Pursuing personal growth	Research projects
Resisting change	Rising in social hierarchies
Risk taking	Saving and investing
Seeking formal authority	Seeking management positions
Seeking social inclusion and connectedness	Seeking social status
Starting a business	Starting a family
Supporting others	Volunteering
Voting	Working to build income and wealth

Conflict theory and related academic approaches such as postmodernism present the masses as having little or no agency and the "elite" as having near total agency. Other sociological perspectives such as rational choice theory present society as a struggle or competition where everyone potentially influences things.

Overview: Human Agency
Type	Sociological Perspective
Definition	The capacity of individuals to shape their own life and to influence the social world.
Related Concepts	Sociological Perspective » Conflict Theory »