It is not the objective situation that is controlling, but the person's interpretation of the situation. The social learning framework says behavior can best be explained by the reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental determinants. Each person has his own interpretation of a situation. To influence a person, it is not sufficient to alter the person's environment. You must alter the person's perception of the environment.
Perception is the selection and organization of environmental stimuli.
Three aspects of perception. The world 2. What I see and why I see it. How I organize what I see. Factors inherent to the stimuli force themselves upon us.