Personality, 9e

Jerry M. Burger

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 The Cognitive Approach: Theory,
Application, and Assessment
Chapter 15

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 Chapter Outline
Personal construct theory
Cognitive personality variables
Cognitive representations of the self
Application: Cognitive (behavior)
psychotherapy

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 Chapter Outline
Assessment: Repertory grid technique
Strengths and criticisms of the
cognitive approach

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 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
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 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

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 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

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 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

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 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
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 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
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 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

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 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.

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 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.

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 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

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 Self-Schemas
Cognitive representations of oneself
that one uses to organize and process
self-relevant information
Consists of the important behaviors and
attributes

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 Figure 15.2 - Example of a Self-
Schema Diagram

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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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

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 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
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 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

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 Rational Emotive (Behavior)
Therapy
Developed by Albert Ellis
People become depressed, anxious,
and upset due to faulty reasoning and
reliance on irrational beliefs

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 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
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 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

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 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

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 Assessment: Repertory Grid
Technique
Researchers employ grid technique to
study:
Teaching effectiveness
Profiles of specific criminal type
Career counseling

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 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

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 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

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 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

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