Cognitive and Social Learning Theories

Abstract

Theoretical and therapeutic approaches falling under the general heading of “cognitive” and “social learning” have gained wide popularity since 1960. No single “cognitive” or “social learning theory” is uniformly accepted, although numerous approaches fit these general descriptive terms. These theories share an emphasis on the complex interaction among cognitive events and processes, affect, overt behavior, and environmental contexts and events as underlying various facets of dysfunctional behavior. Similarly, these different theories agree that learning has a pivotal role in the acquisition and maintenance of deviant and adaptive behavior, and like operant theories (but to a lesser degree), they recognize the importance of environmental consequences—particularly those provided by the social environment—in these processes. Unlike operant theories, however, cognitive social learning (CSL) theories postulate that most learning is a function of how the individual cognitively processes stimulus and consequence information. Possibly because these mediating processes are assumed to explain deviant behavior more adequately than the principles of operant and classical conditioning alone, much of CSL research and writing has been devoted to defining, examining, and defending their nature. It is in this arena that different CSL theories diverge most widely (cf. Meichenbaum & Cameron, 1982).