The central hypothesis of new work on Agency is that when people believe they can achieve their goals, progress occurs. When they do not have this mindset, stagnation occurs. This seems to be true for the Greco-Roman Epoch, Ancient China, Biblical time, and Europe from 400 CE to 1800. New quantitative methods for measuring progress and for measuring the frequency of agentic words allow for rigorous collaboration between psychologists and historians. These same methods may contribute to predicting the future.
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