Dogs normally salivate at the sight and smell of food. B. F. Skinner carried these investigations further in the twentieth century. He was primarily interested in how human behaviorism is derived from observing the laws of learning. Over the last twenty to thirty years the cognitive-social approach has gained prominence, and it is now the most widely accepted of psychological paradigms. The cognitive approach grew out of behaviorism in that it is concerned with laws of learning.
People learn from observing other people.
Much learning depends on the thought and attitude. Modern psychology has gone beyond its original intent to study personality, behavior, and illness. In The Death and Rebirth of Psychology by Dr. Ira Progoff, the author indicates the net result that modern psychology has done to reaffirm man's experience of himself as a spiritual being. This trend moves away from paradigms that view the human being purely biologically or materialistically, toward views that include the human being's spiritual nature. Developmental psychology is that branch of modern psychology which investigates the psychological evolution of human beings, particularly in relation to their evolving concept of self.