PSYCH 333 Cognitive Perspective

Schemas

Mental representations with which people interpret objects + social situations in their world

• knowledge structures made up collections of attributes or features that have a “family resemblance” to each other

• Help us to categorize information efficiently

• Use to fill in missing information

Prototypes

best examples of concepts that help people make judgments about what an object or concept is.

People use their knowledge, imagination, expectations, and past experiences to create prototypes.

William James: The “I”

Ontological self: somewhat mysterious entity that does the observing + describing

• the little person in your head which experiences your life and makes your decisions

William James + The “Me”

Epistemological self: sort of object that can be observed + described

• A collection of statements you could make about yourself

Psychological self

Our abilities + personalities

May influence your behaviour, and it organizes your memories, impressions, and judgements

Declarative Self

Comprises of all your self-knowledge or opinions about your own personality traits

• conscious knowledge

Declarative self: self esteem

Your overall opinion about whether you are good or bad, worthy or unworthy

• important to maintain realistic self esteem is that self esteem might a danger signal; warn you about possible failures

Declarative Self: Self schema

Everything you know, or think you know about your traits and abilities

Includes all of one’s ideas about the self, organized into a coherent system

• can be accurate + inaccurate

Leary’s sociometer theory

Proposes self esteem is a gauge of how much people think others value and accept them

Self esteem acts as a feedback system that influences individual’s behaviour and social interaction

Self-Complexity

The degree to which your self schema is differentiated and compartmentalized

Theoretical model that describes how a person organizes their self-knowledge into distinct aspects

Predictive of emotional stability and reactivity to stress

IV: “I am ___” vs “I am ___ when ___”

DV: Emotional reaction after failure

Self-Efficacy

Self schemas affect what we do

Our opinions about our capabilities set the limits of what we will attempt

Related to the beliefs of the self, rather than actual ability

Self-Discrepancy

The interaction between 3 kinds of self-relevant schemas determines how you feel about life

Discrepancies between the actual + other 2 potential selves have different consequences

Actual Self

Self concept

Person’s perception of who they are, including attributes, behaviours, strengths, weaknesses, and experiences

One’s representation of the attributes that one believes one actually possesses

Ideal Self

Your view of who you could be at your absolute best

Person’s vision of who they want to be, and is made up of their hopes, desires, and wishes

failure to attain = depressed + disappointment

Ought Self

Person’s sense of what they should be and do, based on their perceived duties and obligations

Represents the attributes that one believes one should possess

Failure = anxious, prevention focused

Procedural Self

Unique aspects of what you do

Consists of ways of doing things, or procedures

• You aren’t conscious of the knowledge itself + generally cannot explain it to anyone else very well

Implicit Self

Non-conceptual representation of the self that includes experiences of agency and bodily ownership

Implicit aspects of the self-concept that work unconsciously and powerfully

Measurement = implicit association test (IAT)

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

Measures how closely people’s brains link concepts, especially those that people may be unaware of or unwilling to report; measures attitudes + beliefs

Dual Process Models

Cognitive models that contrast the roles of conscious and unconscious thought

Seymour Epstein’s cognitive experiential self-theory

(CEST)

Seeks to explain unconscious processing and the seemingly irrational, emotion driven sectors of the mind

Epstein’s Rational System

Analytic, logical, effortful + deliberate

Resembles Freud’s secondary process thinking

Thinks in terms of abstract symbols, words + numbers

Operates at a slower speed, designed for deliberate action

Can change rapidly, at the speed of logical thought

Justification via logic + evidence

Produces knowledge

Epstein’s Experiential System

Holistic, affective (driven by what feels good)

Resembles Freud’s primary process thinking

Thinks in terms of vivid images, metaphors + stories

Operates at a very high speed, designed for immediate action

Slow to change; repetitive or intense experiences for change

Effortless + automatic

Self-evidently valid

Produces wisdom