Ayesha Qureshi

2009

BS-Psychology IV
“Theories of Personalities”
Cognitive
perspective
Ayesha Qureshi

2009

BS-Psychology IV

“THEORIES OF PERSONALITIES “

Submitted to: Ma’am Khadija

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COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE
Cognitive pperspective stands in stark contrast to behavioural psychology. This approach focuses
on how internal thoughts and feelings influence one’s behavior. The cognitive approach
emphasizes the importance of memory, perception and attention, language, decision-making and
problem-solving. The cognitive perspective, operates on the belief that the brain is the most
important aspect in relation to the way that an individual behaves or thinks. This perspective states
that to understand someone, you must first be able to understand what is happening in their mind.
Once you are able to do this, you will be able to understand how they will act in other situations as
well. The basis for this foundation is on the way that information that is heard or learned by the
individual is processed by the brain. It is important to understand that, though a number of people
may hear the same information, they will not all process it in the same way. As a result, in order to
determine the way in which a specific individual will process information and respond to it, it is
important to understand the way in which they process other information. This approach often
compares the human mind to that of a computer. It states that human memory is comprised of
three stages:

 Encoding: Information is received.
 Storage: Information is retained.
 Retrieval: Information is recalled.
“According to the APA, cognitive pperspective is the “study of higher mental processes such as
attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, and thinking.” As a scientific study of
mind and mental functioning, the core focus of modern cognitive psychology is on studying how
people acquire, process, and store information within the complex computing system known as the
human brain.”
“Cognition is defined as 'the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding
through thought, experience, and the senses

“ Assumptions of Cognitive Perspective”

Assumption 1: internal mental processes
Humans use cognitive processes to make sense of the world around them. Cognitive psychologists
suggest that we use our senses to collect information from the outside world, e.g. sight, and then we
use internal mental processes to interpret this information. Examples of these processes are memory,
language, attention, decision making and perception. These processes all work together in order for us
to understand the world. These processes all occur very quickly and often are automatic.
Assumption 2: schemas
Schemas can be described as knowledge packets of information. Schemas can change with
experience. If you learn a new fact (and rehearse it, this links back to internal mental processes) then
your schema will adapt. Schemas come in a variety of forms. The concept of scripts is a popular idea
in schemas. These are how we expect certain situations to unfold. Most people have very similar
scripts for social situations, e.g. that when entering a restaurant, you first wait to be seated and end by
paying the bill.
Assumption 3: computer analogy
Cognitive psychologists suggest that the human mind works in a similar way to a computer. A
computer will receive an input, e.g. from a keyboard, process it, through display and storage, and then
output, recalling a document previously saved. The human mind works in a similar manner. Our
senses work as an input, information is then stored and retrieved when needed. Imagine your teacher
is teaching you about the computer analogy: you listen to their explanation (input), rehearse it

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(process) and then when asked a question by your teacher you recall it (output). Therefore, the key
ideas are input, process, and output.
“Cognitive Perspective by ALBERT ALIS”
In the 1950's, a psychologist named Albert Ellis, and a psychiatrist named Aaron Beck, independently
developed two very similar theories. Both of these theories resulted in effective forms of cognitive
therapy. These therapies continue to be widely practiced today. While behavioural learning theory
emphasizes the role of the environment, cognitive theory emphasizes the key role of the mind's
cognitions in determining behavior. These cognitions include a person's thoughts, feelings, beliefs,
and perceptions.

According to cognitive theory, our dysfunctional thoughts lead to extreme emotions. These extreme
emotions in turn, lead to maladaptive behavior. To illustrate the powerful effect of these thoughts,
consider the following example. Suppose I am preparing to take a difficult test. While doing so I think
to myself "I can't do anything right, I'll probably fail this test." This thought will likely cause me to
feel apprehensive. When I eventually take the test, this degree of anxiety will affect my ability to
concentrate and earn a good grade. In addition, these negative thoughts will affect the amount of
effort I put forth when studying for the test. When I incorrectly believe that I will certainly fail, it
seems rather futile to invest a great deal of energy in attempting to succeed. As a result, I may indeed
fail, simply because I didn't invest much time and energy in preparation for the exam. Ironically, this
failure will serve to strengthen my faulty belief; i.e., my poor test score "proves" my belief is correct-
I am a failure. However, the true reason for my failure was due to my lack of effort and preparation,
and not because I am inherently a failure. Quite a different outcome would occur if I were to think to
myself, "Yes, this test is going to be quite difficult but I have succeeded before. I will study hard and
put forth my best effort. Besides, I am just as competent as any of the other students in the class."
These thoughts would cause me to feel confident and ready to face the challenge. I would put forth the
extra effort needed to succeed. Clearly, these two different ways to think about the same event result
in very different behavior and outcomes.

Albert Ellis's cognitive therapy is called Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). He believed
peoples' intense suffering from negative emotions was caused by their irrational core beliefs. Core
beliefs refer to the basic beliefs people have about themselves and the world around them. For
instance, in the previous example my thought "I'll probably fail this test" may stem from a core belief
"I must always achieve complete success or else I am a complete failure." Irrational core beliefs cause
the negative emotions that lead to dysfunctional behavior.

Albert Ellis focused on irrational core beliefs by identifying beliefs for which there was no evidence.
Thus, they are irrational. According to REBT, teaching therapy participants to think in a more
rational, balanced manner eliminates the extreme emotions that result from these irrational beliefs. In
so doing, this rational thinking eliminates dysfunctional behavior. Ellis identified common, irrational,
core beliefs such as:
 I must do well and win the approval of others or else I am no good.
 Everybody should treat me kindly.
 Life must be fair. Ellis noticed that irrational beliefs often contained words like "must," "should,"
and "can't."
REBT has a systematic and direct way of teaching therapy participants to identify, challenge, and
replace these irrational core beliefs with more rational and balanced ones.
The REBT framework posits that humans have both innate rational (meaning self-helping, socially
helping, and constructive) and irrational (meaning self-defeating, socially defeating, and unhelpful)
tendencies and leanings. REBT claims that people to a large degree consciously and unconsciously
construct emotional difficulties such as self-blame, self-pity, clinical anger, hurt, guilt,
shame, depression and anxiety, and behavior tendencies like procrastination, compulsiveness,
avoidance, addiction and withdrawal by the means of their irrational and self-defeating
thinking, emoting and behaving.

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REBT is then applied as an educational process in which the therapist often active-directively teaches
the client how to identify irrational and self-defeating beliefs and philosophies which in nature are
rigid, extreme, unrealistic, illogical and absolutist, and then to forcefully and actively question and
dispute them and replace them with more rational and self-helping ones. By using different cognitive,
emotive and behavioral methods and activities, the client, together with help from the therapist and
in homework exercises, can gain a more rational, self-helping and constructive rational way of
thinking, emoting and behaving.
One of the main objectives in REBT is to show the client that whenever unpleasant and unfortunate
activating events occur in people's lives, they have a choice between making themselves feel healthily
or, self-helpingly, sorry, disappointed, frustrated, and annoyed or making themselves feel unhealthily
and self-defeatingly horrified, terrified, panicked, depressed, self-hating and self-pitying. By attaining
and ingraining a more rational and self-constructive philosophy of themselves, others and the world,
people often are more likely to behave and emote in more life-serving and adaptive ways.
A fundamental premise of REBT is that humans do not get emotionally disturbed by unfortunate
circumstances, but by how they construct their views of these circumstances through their language,
evaluative beliefs, meanings and philosophies about the world, themselves and others. [19] This concept
has been attributed as far back as the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who is often cited as utilizing
similar ideas in antiquity.
ABC MODEL
o The basic idea behind the ABC model is that “external events (A) do not cause emotions (C), but
beliefs (B) and, in particular, irrational beliefs (IB) do”
o the model states that it’s not a simple matter of an unchangeable process in which events lead to
beliefs that result in consequences; the type of belief matters, and we have the power to change
our beliefs. REBT divides beliefs into “rational” and “irrational” beliefs. The goal when using the
ABC model in treatment is to help the client accept the rational beliefs and dispute the irrational
beliefs.
o This disputation process is what results in the model often being referred to as the “ABCDE”
Model. In this updated model, the D stands for the Disputation of Beliefs and E stands for the new
Effect, or the result of holding healthier beliefs (Jorn, 2016).
o Disputation is not an original part of the ABC Model, as it happens outside of the “ABC” part
(such as in the case of disputing an irrational belief to turn it into a rational belief), and the new
Effect is another subsequent factor: the result of that disputation.
o Calling it the “ABCDE” Model instead of the “ABC” Model simply makes these two steps more
explicit, but they are present regardless of what one calls it.
In these models, this is what a typical series of thoughts might look like:
 A: Activating Event (something happens to or around someone).
 B: Belief (the event causes someone to have a belief, either rational or irrational).
 C: Consequence (the belief leads to a consequence, with rational beliefs leading to healthy
consequences and irrational beliefs leading to unhealthy consequences).
 D: Disputation (if one has held an irrational belief which has caused unhealthy consequences,
they must dispute that belief and turn it into a rational belief).
 E: New Effect (the disputation has turned the irrational belief into a rational belief, and the person
now has healthier consequences of their belief as a result).
REBT proposes four core irrational beliefs;
 1. Demands: The tendency to demand success, fair treatment, and respect (e.g., I must be treated
fairly).
 2. Awfulizing: The tendency to consider adverse events as awful or terrible (e.g., It's awful when
I am disrespected).
 3. Low Frustration Tolerance (LFT): The belief that one could not stand or tolerate adversity
(e.g., I cannot stand being treated unfairly).

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 4. Depreciation: The belief that one event reflects the person as a whole (e.g., When I fail it
shows that I am a complete failure).
Critical Evaluation:
REBT critisized for being harsh, formulaic and failing to address deep underlying problems. REBT
theorists have argued in reply that a careful study of REBT shows that it is both philosophically deep,
humanistic and individualized collaboratively working on the basis of the client's point of reference.
They have further argued that REBT utilizes an integrated and interrelated methodology of cognitive,
emotive-experiential and behavioral interventions. Others have questioned REBTs view of rationality,
both radical constructivists who have claimed that reason and logic are subjective properties and those
who believe that reason can be objectively determined.
“Cognitive Perspective by Aaron Beck”
Around this same (1950's), Aaron Beck was practicing as a psychoanalyst. He realized that people's
internal thoughts and perceptions had a large influence on their emotions. He also believed that a
more active and directive approach to modify thoughts would positively influence behavioral change.
His theory takes a slightly different approach than REBT, and the terminology is somewhat different.
Nonetheless, both Beck and Ellis sought to modify an individual's dysfunctional thoughts, in order to
produce a change in emotions and behavior.

According to Beck, problems occur when distorted thinking patterns influence our interpretation of
environmental events. In other words, our behavior is not really determined by what is actually
happening in the environment. Instead, our behavior is determined by our thoughts about what is
happening. Therefore, behavior is significantly influenced by our perceptions and interpretations of
the environment. Let's illustrate this important distinction. Suppose someone walks past me and steps
on my foot. I could interpret this as an accidental, clumsy act. Alternatively, I could interpret it as an
intentional, hostile act. Each interpretation would likely elicit a very different emotional and
behavioral response.
According to Beck, the way we interpret environmental events is a function of our core schema. A
core schema is a central assumption about oneself, others, and the world. These assumptions influence
our feelings and behavior. Examples of core schema include: 1) The world is a dangerous place. 2) I
am unlovable. 3) I am inadequate. Notice how similar Ellis's concept of core beliefs is to Beck's
concept of core schema. According to cognitive theory, when cognitive distortions and core beliefs
are modified, behavioral change naturally follows
Beck's cognitive theory
 Beck's cognitive theory considers the subjective symptoms such as a negative view of self, world,
and future defining features of depression. The model assumes that psychopathological states
represent extreme or excessive forms of normal cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning.
Additionally, the cognitive theory posits that anxiety and depression can be distinguished by their
cognitive content, with thoughts of personal loss and failure specific to depression and cognitive
content involving physical or psychological threat and danger specific to anxiety. Although
initially conceptualized as a model relevant to anxiety and depression, the cognitive model is now
applied to a wide range of disorders such as eating disorders.
A central tenet of the cognitive theory is that our thinking influences our emotional and behavioral
experiences and vice versa. As is described later, when applied in therapy, there is an emphasis on
working toward changing one's thoughts as a means to altering feelings and behaviours. The basic
model depicting the interrelationships among thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
 Cognitive theory has focused on thought processes that become habitual and automatic. These
automatic thoughts are theorized to differ depending on the specific psychological problems a
person is experiencing. How these thoughts become automatic is a matter of scientific study. Beck
originally posited that individuals derive meaning from their experiences and, with time, rely on
what he called cognitive schemas (i.e., hypothetical organizing structures of experience
represented in thoughts) to provide meaning to experience. For example, someone with a history
of limited close relationships may, over time, develop a schema like ‘I am unlovable.’ Schemas
can constitute particular vulnerabilities to interpret certain types of experiences inaccurately. For

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instance, if a person believes they are unlovable, then they may interpret a colleague not inviting
them to a party as further evidence of their unlovability rather than considering that the party was
only for that person's family members or that they were actually invited but did not see the
invitation.
Beck also developed the notion of the cognitive triad to describe how depressed adults tend to think
about the world. The triad refers to thoughts about self, world, and future. In all the three instances,
depressed individuals tend to have negative views. Thus, a depressed individual would tend to think
they are a worthless person living in a futile and unforgiving world with a hopeless future. Beck's
work also led to the identification of particular patterns of habitual and maladaptive thinking that he
called errors of thought. These included the following:
 arbitrary inference: Where an individual quickly and on the basis of limited evidence, draws
a conclusion. Example: That person did not smile at me. He hates me.
 selective abstraction: Where an individual focus only on some of the available evidence to
draw a conclusion Example:My boss mentioned that my report needed some edits. He hated
it.
 overgeneralization: Where an individual takes one negative event and assumes that it has
meaning that pervades his/her whole like. Example: I missed that shot. I am never going to
succeed in anything.

Critical Evaluation:
 its focus is on immediate symptom relief and it disregards personality restructuring;
 its approach is superficial and mechanistic;
 the therapeutic relationship is irrelevant;
 emotions are of minimal importance.
Cognitive Perspective by George Kelly”

 George Kelly was a psychologist best known for his contributions to personal construct
theory. This theory suggests that each person has their own mental framework from which they
see the world. People develop their own constructs, or schemas, that they then use to interpret
information and experiences.
 Kelly is commonly referred to as the founder of cognitive clinical psychology. He played a role in
the early development of the field of cognitive psychology. 
 As Kelly formed his theory, he studied the works of Austrian psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud, for
ideas and inspiration. While Kelly appreciated Freud's work, he felt there were some problems
with the psychoanalyst's approach.3 In Freud's therapy, the therapist would provide the "correct
interpretation" of the client's situation, which Freud believed was the key to change. 
 Based on his observations, Kelly developed an idea that he referred to as constructive
alternativism. Essentially, each individual has their own unique construction or perspective of
reality. Each construction is different, and while some may be better than others, no one
interpretation is complete or completely accurate. Kelly's idea suggested that everyone's
viewpoint has value, particularly for their own unique situation, time, place, and moment.

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Personal Construct Theory

Kelly's personal construct theory suggested that the differences between people result from the
different ways that we predict and interpret events in the world around us. Personal constructs, he
suggested, were the ways that each person gathers information, evaluates it, and develops
interpretations.
Much like a scientist forms a hypothesis, collects data, and analyzes the results, people also take in
information and perform their own "experiments" to test ideas and interpretations of events. The
results of our everyday investigations influence our personalities and our way of interacting with our
environment and the people around us. Personal constructs are bipolar, which means they are
composed of two opposing sides. Constructs are unique to each person because they are developed as
a result of each individual's differing experiences. Consider how different people approach the same
experience in different ways.
Adventure vs. Risk
One person might view new experiences as exciting opportunities for adventure and a way to break
free from boredom. Another person might view the same experience as a risky, frightening prospect
that interrupts their peace. In this case, the first person has a construct for security vs. adventure,
where they see security as boring and stagnant and adventure as desirable. The second person has a
personal construct for security vs. risk, where they see security as desirable and safe and risk
represents fear and insecurity.
Friendly vs. Unfriendly
Imagine that two friends are out for a walk in the park when a large dog runs toward them. One
person might have a personal construct that suggests that dogs are friendly, lovable creatures that
respond to affection and warmth. The other person, however, believes that dogs are intimidating and
potentially dangerous. Because of these two differing constructs, the first person responds by
approaching the dog while the other shrinks back and tries to avoid the animal.
Kelly suggested that these constructs can change. While a construct might work at one point in a
person's life, it might need to adapt or change as the situation changes .
Contributions to Psychology
Kelly played an important role in the development of clinical psychology,.
Interestingly, Kelly disliked being thought of as a cognitive theorist. While his theory shared some
elements similar to the work of other humanistic and cognitive theories, he felt that his personal
construct theory was unrelated. Kelly's perspective that people are essentially natural scientists played
a role in the later development of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
How Personal Construct Theory Works
Kelly believed that we start by first developing a set of personal constructs, which are essentially
mental representations that we use to interpret events. These constructs are based on our experiences
and observations.During the early 1950s, the behavioral and psychoanalytic perspectives were still
quite dominant in psychology. Kelly proposed his personal construct theory as an alternative view that
departed from these two prominent points of view.
Rather than viewing human beings as passive subjects who were at the whims of the
associations, reinforcements, and punishments they encountered in their environments (behaviorism)
or their unconscious wishes and childhood experiences (psychoanalysis), Kelly believed that people
take an active role in how they collect and interpret knowledge.
“Behavior is not the answer to the psychologist’s question; it is the question,” he suggested.
As we live our lives, we perform "experiments" that put our beliefs, perceptions, and interpretations to
the test. If our experiments work, they strengthen our current beliefs. When they don't, we are able to
change our views. Because according to Kelly, we experience the world through the "lens" of our
constructs. These constructs are used to predict and anticipate events, which in turn determines our
behaviors, feelings, and thoughts.
Kelly also believed that all events that happen are open to multiple interpretations, which he referred
to as constructive alternativism. When we are trying to make sense of an event or situation, he

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suggested that we are also able to pick and choose which construct we want to use. This sometimes
happens as an event unfolds, but we can also reflect back on our experiences and then choose to view
them in different ways.
How We Use Constructs..
Kelly believed that the process of using constructs works in much the same way that a scientist
utilizes a theory. First, we begin by hypothesizing that a particular construct will apply to a particular
event. We then test this hypothesis by applying the construct and predicting the outcome. If our
prediction is correct, then we know that the construct is useful in this situation and we retain it for
future use. We might reconsider how and when we apply the construct, we might alter the construct,
or we might decide to abandon the construct altogether.
Recurrences play an important role in personal construct theory. Constructs emerge because they
reflect things that frequently recur in our experience. Kelly also believed that constructs tend to be
organized in a hierarchical fashion. For example, more basic constructs might lie and the base of the
hierarchy, while more complex and abstract constructs lie can be found at higher levels. Kelly also
believed that constructs are bipolar; essentially, each construct consists of a pair of two opposing
sides. Some examples include "active versus passive," "stable versus changing," and "friendly versus
unfriendly."
The side that a person applies to an event is known as the emergent pole. The side that is not being
actively applied is the implicit pole. It is essential to remember the emphasis on individuality in
personal construct theory. Constructs are inherently personal because they are based on each person's
life experiences. Each person's system of constructs is unique, and it is the individual nature of these
experiences that form the differences between people.
Observations:
"Kelly believed that people have a fundamental need to predict the events that they experience. They
do so by developing a system of personal constructs, which they use to interpret or construe new
events. Constructs are derived from recurring elements in one's experience, but because they're
developed separately by each person, each person's system of constructs is unique." (Carver &
Scheier, 2000)
Critical Evaluation:
Not popular in the United States. Psychologists see it as too different from prevailing ideas, does not
have important and familiar terms of motivation and emotion, unconscious forces, drives, and needs,
which form no part of Kelly's system.
References:
Verywellmind.com
Wikipedia
GCU Blog
PositivePsychology
ScienceDirect
Studymode.com
Wjec.co.uk.com