Final answer:
The main difference between the cognitive approach and traditional behaviorism is that the cognitive approach emphasizes internal mental processes, while behaviorism focuses solely on observable behavior in response to environmental stimuli.
Step-by-step explanation:
The main difference between the cognitive approach and traditional behaviorism lies in their view and study of mental processes. Behaviorism, particularly in the form of radical behaviorists like John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner, emphasized the environment's impact on observable behavior, discounting the role of internal thought processes.
Behaviorists adhered to the belief that learning is a change in behavior through conditioning, and anything that cannot be directly observed, such as thoughts or emotions, was considered outside the scope of scientific inquiry.
Behaviorists like Edward C. Tolman began showing interest in the cognitive aspects of learning when he observed that reinforcement does not have to be immediate for learning to occur, pointing to the existence of latent learning and cognitive maps.
Moreover, cognitive learning emphasizes complexities such as understanding instructions and imitation, underscoring the capacity for mental manipulation of information, which is something behaviorism with its focus on only observable and measurable phenomena did not accommodate.
Ultimately, while traditional behaviorism focused narrowly on observable behavior as a result of environmental stimuli, the cognitive approach reintroduced the scientific study of the mind to psychology, considering that internal states, thought processes, and the cognitive machinery are critical to understanding behavior and learning.