A Very Quick Overview

Comparing Cognitive and Behavioral Perspectives According to the cognitive theorists:

1) Learning is the result of attempts to make sense of the world

2) Cognitive psychology involves the study of mental processes

3) People are seen as active

4) Focus on individual and developmental differences

5) Cognitive psychology goes beyond behaviorism to study concept learning, problem solving,
    memory, and perception.

As we can see from the points above, cognitive psychology differs from and extends the behavioral perspective in many key areas.  However, many individuals view "cognitions" as simply another form of behavior, and argue that these cognitions or thoughts are subject to the same laws of behavior as any other observable human behavior.  Based on this, there is a very large middle position we refer to as the cognitive-behavioral position.



 

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