Social learning and cognitive theories put the person in a central position

This was the beginning of what has come to be known as Social Learning Theory (SLT), which emphasizes the social nature of learning. And because it assumes that learning is talking place even when there is no observable response, it brought attention back to mental processes: to people’s thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, expectations, mindsets, etc, which collectively involve what psychologists call cognitive processes, or simply cognition.