Cognitive-experiential Self-theory Research Articles

The Relationship of Analytical—Relational and Intuitive—Experiential Information Processing Styles with Adolescent Scholastic and Coping Ability

According to cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST), individuals process information through two conceptual systems, an experiential system and a rational system, each operating by its own rules of inference. The study aimed to investigate adolescent scholastic and coping ability using the recently developed self-report measure of individual differences in intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational thinking, based on the cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST; Epstein, Pacini, Denes-Raj & Heier, 1996). The sample involved 134 adolescent boys from an independent boys' school in Sydney, Australia. As a within-group correlational study, the data were analysed using factor analysis, correlational analysis, multiple regressions and canonical correlation analysis. The analysis was carried out using the SPSS system (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The results suggest that while factor analysis had established the independence of the analytical-rational and intuitive-experiential functions among an Australian male adolescent sample, only the analytical-rational function was found to be significantly correlated with both adolescent scholastic and coping ability. No substantial correlations were found between these two measures and the intuitive-experiential function. The findings support the notion that students with high intelligence and effective coping favoured using the rational function. These findings may in part reflect, as suggested by Epstein, Pacini et al., (1996) the developmental aspects of the two modes of information processing among younger participants. Implications for effective student learning and coping are discussed.

Religion and the Experiential System: Relationships of Constructive Thinking with Religious

Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory (CEST) differentiates an emotional experiential from a rational system of thepersonality. CEST further hypothesizes that religion can express adaptive experiential potentials, and a Constructive Thinking Inventory has been devised for recording a healthy functioning of the experiential system. In the present project, the Intrinsic scale and type largely predicted constructive thinking, whereas the Extrinsic and Quest scales and the Extrinsic type were largely associated with destructive thinking. Quest also correlated inversely with a personal interest in religion, and a number of findings suggested concerns about the basic validity of the Quest scale. Most important, these data confinned that CEST offers an empirically useful interpretation of religious commitment.

Temperament and Personality Theory: The Perspective of Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory

This review illustrates the applicability of temperamental constructs to personality theory by mapping key temperament constructs onto Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory (CEST). Linkages between temperament and CEST are clarified by examining the role of temperament in shaping day to day experiences; the representation of experiences in memory structures (schemas about self, others, the world) that influence the construal of subsequent events; and the implications for education and socialization that stem from the synthesis of temperament constructs and personality theory.

Individual differences in intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational thinking styles.

Two studies provide evidence for the reliability and validity of a new self-report measure of individual differences in intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational thinking based on cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST). The Rational-Experiential Inventory (REI) was constructed to measure the 2 independent processing modes with a modified Need for Cognition Scale (NFC, J.T. Cacioppo & R.E. Petty, 1982) and a new scale, Faith in Intuition (FI). In Study 1, a factor analysis yielded 2 orthogonal factors corresponding to NFC and FI. Although heuristic processing was determined primarily by FI, NFC also contributed to heuristic responding, in line with CEST. The relation of FI and NFC to coping ability also was examined. In Study 2, the factor structure of the REI was replicated (N = 973). NFC and FI were differentially related to measures of personality, adjustment, achievement, and interpersonal relations.

The Linda Problem Revisited from the Perspective of Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory

Results from four experiments (N = 548) support the hypothesis from cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST) that the resistance of the notorious Linda conjunction problem to solution can be attributed primarily to its simultaneously concrete and unnatural context. The experiments demonstrated that the influence of other variables, such as problem order, event likelihood, within-versus between-protagonist context, and statistical sophistication, although important, cannot account for the robust influence of the combination of the concrete-abstract and natural-unnatural dimensions. The implications of the demonstration that virtually everyone has intuitive knowledge of the conjunction rule are discussed, in addition to cuing effects, narrative processing, and methodological issues that have produced serious distortions in the interpretation of previous research.

You’re Smarter Than You Think

Principles of Constructive Thinking You're Smarter Than You Think Seymour Epstein. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.302 pp. $22.00 (hardcover). In the book entitled You're Smarter Than You Think, the author Dr. Seymour Epstein explains his principles of constructive thinking, details why they are important, and discusses how to become a better constructive thinker. His theory is that people have two kinds of intelligence: rational intelligence, in which the mind learns by abstracting, analyzing, and reasoning; and experiential intelligence, in which the mind learns directly from experience. These two minds must operate together in order for people to think constructively. When we think constructively we cope with problems more efficiently, we are less stressed, and we have better relationships with others. Epstein has developed the Cognitive Thinking Inventory, which he describes in chapter 2, as a means of testing how constructively we think. In addition, he presents the Cognitive Experiential Self-Theory (CEST). This theory explains how and why we continually interpret reality through the automatic, unconscious workings of the experiential mind. Like the theories behind cognitive therapy, CEST emphasizes how our automatic, preconscious interpretations of reality influence our feelings and behavior. Epstein explains, however, that he feels the scope of cognitive therapy is limited in that it doesn't look at the overall system, only specific emotional and behavioral problems. He also feels that certain problems in living can't be treated effectively through purely cognitive approaches, for the roots of some problems lie deeper in the experiential mind than can be reached by simply correcting maladaptive cognitions. The author believes that CEST expands cognitive therapy techniques to include a range of everyday life problems, and recognizes the wisdom of the experiential mind and its role in both teaching and learning from the rational mind. According to CEST, the job of the experiential mind is to construct a model of the world that is emotionally satisfying. Dr. Epstein states that we have basic beliefs based on generalizations from past experiences, which are constructed to help us satisfy our needs. Our overall success depends on how we interpret our life experiences. The task of therapy, therefore, is to eliminate what he refers to as sensitivities and compulsions which lead to destructive thinking and behavior. After explaining his theory of constructive thinking, Epstein discusses how being a good constructive thinker can help improve people's success in the workplace, in relationships, with stress and coping, and with physical health. He subsequently outlines the origins of good constructive thinking and answers questions such as how and why people become and remain good or poor constructive thinkers. He emphasizes how parents influence their children's constructive thinking; how some children nonetheless overcome a destructive upbringing; and how emotionally significant experiences can make a child or adult a better or poorer constructive thinker. Lastly, Epstein addresses how people can improve their constructive thinking. He describes three basic approaches to improvement which include: using one's rational mind to train one's experiential mind; providing one's experiential mind with corrective experiences; and learning from one's experiential mind. …

Irrational reactions to negative outcomes: evidence for two conceptual systems.

According to cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST), individuals have 2 systems for processing information, a rational system and an experiential system. Research conducted under norm theory (NT) has provided impressive evidence of an if only (IO) effect associated with postoutcome processing of aversive events that are highly consistent with formulations in CEST. Two studies involving vignettes adapted from NT were conducted that tested 4 hypotheses and corollaries derived from CEST. It was demonstrated, in support of hypotheses, that the IO effect can be obtained with ratings of one's own and of a protagonist's specific behaviors, as well as with ratings of a protagonist's diffuse emotions (the usual procedure); that a rational orientation decreases the IO effect; that increasing the intensity of outcomes increases it; and that priming the experiential system reduces people's ability to subsequently think rationally. The theoretical and research implications of these findings are discussed.

Cognitive-experiential self-theory and subjective probability: Further evidence for two conceptual systems.

Three experiments (N = 1,331) demonstrated that research findings on suspiciousness about coincidences (Miller, Turnbull, & McFarland, 1989) can be accounted for in terms of subjective probability, as predicted by cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST) but in contrast with the norm theory (NT) account offered by Miller et al. (1989). Ss participated in a hypothetical (Experiments 1 and 2) or real (Experiment 3) lottery game in which they chose between 2 bowls offering equivalent probabilities of winning or losing but differing with respect to absolute numbers (e.g., 1 in 10 vs. 10 in 100). Responses across 4 conditions (2 probability levels x 2 outcome types) and across the 3 experiments supported predictions derived from CEST but not those derived from NT. Results are discussed in terms of 2 conceptual systems, rational and experiential, that operate by different rules of inference.