Attempting to define cognitive factors in addictive processes is a daunting task. One might argue that cognition is at the root of virtually every aspect of addiction, beginning with the decision to smoke a cigarette for the first time or to take a first sip of beer, to the successful navigation of occasional temptations encountered by a former substance abuser who has maintained abstinence for many years, and all of the points in between. There are many domains that might be considered in this context, including learning and memory, motives, intentions, attitudes, social perception, coping, self-awareness, self-control, self-regulation, attention, craving and urges, expectancies, attributions, cuereactivity, neural networks, and implicit processes. We have elected to focus on a subset of these domains and are painfully aware that there are many other relevant topics which should and would be included in a more comprehensive treatment of the topic.