Personality, 9e Jerry M. Burger © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.

The Cognitive Approach: Theory, Application, and Assessment Chapter 15 © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.

Chapter Outline Personal construct theory Cognitive personality variables Cognitive representations of the self Application: Cognitive (behavior) psychotherapy © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 3

Chapter Outline Assessment: Repertory grid technique Strengths and criticisms of the cognitive approach © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 4

Cognitive approach Differences in personality are differences in the way people process information Kurt Lewin’s Field theory of behavior (1938) Early predecessor Psychology of Personal Constructs Published by George Kelly Premise of many approaches identified as cognitive © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 5

Personal Construct Theory Personal constructs: Cognitive structures people use to interpret and predict events People do not use identical personal constructs Individuals do not organize constructs in an identical manner Bipolar Friendly–unfriendly Intelligent–unintelligent © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 6

Personal Construct Theory Application of first construct is followed by other bipolar constructs Determines the extent of the blackness or whiteness Differences in personality result from differences in the way people interpret the world © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 7

Personal Construct Systems Initial thoughts of people to make sense of others and their behavior Individuals may use the same constructs and construe the world differently © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 8

Inadequate Personal Constructs People suffer from psychological problems due to defects in their construct systems Past traumatic experiences are not the cause of the problems People become anxious when personal constructs fail to make sense of the events in their lives People frequently generate a new construct to replace the inadequate one © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 9

Cognitive Personality Variables Elements between the stimulus and response Constitute to individual differences in people Referred as cognitive-affective units Part of a complex system that links situations people encounter with their behavior © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 10

Cognitive Personality Variables Individual differences in cognitive framework is due to difference in mental representations of people Individuals differ in the manner they access stored information People react to the same situation differently © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 11

Table 15.1 - Cognitive-Affective Units Source: From A Cognitive-Affective System Theory of Personality: Reconceptualizing Situations, Disposition, Dynamics, and Invariance in Personality Structure, by W. Mischel and Y. Shoda, Psychological Review, 1995, 102, 246–148. Copyright © 1995 American Psychological Association. © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 12

Figure 15.1 - Cognitive Model of Personality Source: From A Cognitive-Affective System Theory of Personality: Reconceptualizing Situations, Disposition, Dynamics, and Invariance in Personality Structure, by W. Mischel and Y. Shoda, Psychological Review, 1995, 102, 246148. Copyright 1995 American Psychological Association. © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 13

Cognitive Representations of the Self Mental representations are unique to individuals Self-concept - Cognitive representation of oneself Relatively stable over time Play a central role in the way people process information © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 14

Self-Schemas Cognitive representations of oneself that one uses to organize and process self- relevant information Consists of the important behaviors and attributes © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 15

Figure 15.2 - Example of a Self-Schema Diagram © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 16

Self-Schemas Trait concepts - Part of self-schema People behave differently due to individual differences in self-schemas Provide a framework for organizing and storing information Self-reference effect Easy remembering of self-referent words as they are processed through self-schemas © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 17

Possible Selves Cognitive representations of the kind of person we might become someday Behavior is influenced by cognitive representations of present and future self Provide incentives for future behavior Helps to interpret the meaning of behavior and events in our lives © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 18

Possible Selves Researchers use possible selves to study varied behaviors Binge drinking, academic performance Weight loss, adherence to an exercise program Researches indicate gender differences in the possible selves of young men and women © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 19

Self Discrepancies Self-discrepancy theory proposes cognitive representations of the self Actual self - Contains the information you have about the kind of person you are Ideal self - Mental image of the kind of person you would like to be Ought self - Person you believe you should be © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 20

Self Discrepancies Discrepancies between actual and ideal self result in disappointment, dejection, and sadness Discrepancies between actual and ought self lead to agitation, anxiety, and guilt Comparison takes place outside of conscious awareness © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 21

Application: Cognitive (Behavior) Psychotherapy Helps recognize inappropriate thoughts and replace them with appropriate ones Cognitive psychologists teach clients how to deal with future and recurring problems Limited to psychological problems that are based in irrational and self-defeating thinking © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 22

Rational Emotive (Behavior) Therapy Developed by Albert Ellis People become depressed, anxious, and upset due to faulty reasoning and reliance on irrational beliefs © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 23

Rational Emotive (Behavior) Therapy A-B-C process Activating experience Irrational belief Emotional consequence Goal of rational emotive therapy Clients must see their irrational beliefs and identify the fault in reasoning To replace irrational beliefs with rational ones © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 24

Assessment: Repertory Grid Technique Developed by George Kelly and his followers Procedure Test taker creates a list of elements Consists of specific people the test taker knows Test taker’s personal constructs are elicited by comparing various elements on the list © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 25

Assessment: Repertory Grid Technique Role Construct Repertory Test Common version of the grid technique Referred as Rep Test Second step of the procedure creates a grid Allows the therapist and client to look for patterns across a broad set of information © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 26

Assessment: Repertory Grid Technique Researchers employ grid technique to study: Teaching effectiveness Profiles of specific criminal type Career counseling © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 27

Assessment: Repertory Grid Technique Limitations Does not generate a simple test score Several assumptions underlying the test Constructs elicited during test have some degree of permanence © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 28

Strengths of the Cognitive Approach Ideas developed through empirical findings Subjected to extensive investigation in controlled laboratory experiments Fits well with the current mood of psychology Therapists from other approaches incorporate aspects of cognitive therapy in their practice © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 29

Criticisms of the Cognitive Approach Concepts are too abstract for empirical research Indecisive to introduce cognitive concepts to account for individual differences in behavior No single model to organize and guide theory and research © 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 15 - 30