Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker (LBSW) Practice Exam

Cognition shapes what we do. Cognitive theory focuses on internal mental processes—how people think, interpret, and make sense of events—and how those thoughts influence feelings, attitudes, beliefs, and actions. The statement that changes in how people think over time affect their attitudes and behaviors captures this idea: by altering maladaptive thoughts or beliefs, you can change the way someone feels and acts. In practice, this underpins cognitive-behavioral approaches used in social work, where interventions target automatic thoughts, cognitive distortions, and core beliefs to promote more adaptive behaviors. The other options reflect different theories: unconscious drives are central to psychodynamic theories, not cognitive theory; claiming biology is the sole determinant discounts the role of thinking; and suggesting behavior is random ignores the cognitive factors that cognitive theory emphasizes.