AbstractAn examination of our preconceptions about desire, together with a comparison of these with the available empirical evidence, leads to a theory in which desire is characterized as a cognitive phenomenon which is heavily influenced by social learning. Following an introductory outline, the second section clarifies what exactly is at issue in attempting to reduce conation to cognition. Section 3 assesses the conditions required for knowledge of our own desires, and this concern is extended in 4 to an appraisal of the role played by self‐knowledge in the process of change through psychotherapy. The concluding section argues that the Social‐cognitive Theory of Desire is compatible with contemporary neo‐Dar‐winian views of ev