Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory
The book, Letters from Jenny, by Gordon All port (1965) presented a series of letters written over an extended period by a woman named Jenny to her son, Ross. Jenny was a poor, hard-working woman who sacrificed almost everything she had for Ross. She supp
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COGNITIVE-EXPERIENTIAL SELF-THEORY SEYMOUR EpSTEIN
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The Basic Theory 217 Comparison ofthe Experiential and Rational Systems 218 Psychodynamics 218 Basic Beliefs 220 221 Repression and Dissociation Sensitivities and Compulsions as a Major Source ofMaladjustment 222 Frustration of Basic Needs as a Second 223 Major Source ofMaladjustment Incoherence as a Third Major Source of Maladjustment 223 Additional Information about CEST 224 Research Support 225 225 Research on Heuristic Processing Research on Basic Beliefs 230 Individual Difforences in Experiental Processing 232 233 Summary ofthe Research Findings Broader Implications of CognitiveExperiential Self-Theory 2335 A Final Comment 235 References 235
Introduction 212 The Development of Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory 212 The Need for a New Theory of the Unconscious 213 Evidence in Everyday Life of Two Fundamental Ways of Knowing 214 The Influence ofEmotions on Thinking 214 The Influence ofThinking on Emotions 215 Conflicts Between the Heart and the Head 215 The Difference between Insight and Intellectual Knowledge 215 The Appeal and Influence of Narratives 216 Irrational Fears 216 216 The Appeal ofPictures Superstitious Thinking 217 The Ubiquity of Religion 217 Conclusion 217
SEYMOUR
EpSTEIN • Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003.
Advanced Personality. edited by David F. Barone, Michel Hersen, and Vincent B. Van Hasselt. Plenum Press, New York,1998.
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D. F. Barone et al. (eds.), Advanced Personality © Springer Science+Business Media New York 1998
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SEYMOUR EPSTEIN
INTRODUCTION The book, Letters from Jenny, by Gordon Allport (1965) presented a series ofletters written over an extended period by a woman named Jenny to her son, Ross. Jenny was a poor, hard-working woman who sacrificed almost everything she had for Ross. She supported him in an affluent lifestyle at an Ivy League college, while she barely had enough to eat. All that mattered to her was his well-being. Yet, she failed miserably in bringing fulfillment and happiness to him as well as to herself. When Ross began to form relationships with other women, Jenny disowned him, very likely contributing to his early death. She then derived more happiness from his memory than she had from his presence. Allport (1965) raised the interesting question, "Why does an intelligent lady behave so persistently in a self-defeating manner?" (p. viii). He sought an answer by viewing the case from the vantage point of several major personality theories; he concluded that no one theory was able to provide a satisfactory answer. Rather, each had something to offer, and each had serious limitations. The solution, he believed, was to develop an eclectic theory that contained the best of the current theories: "Yet the challenge remains: if there is truth in all, to what extent and in what direction, is each approach most valid? Eclecticism in personality theory is no doubt necessary, but it is a task for the future to blend the approaches so that a sys
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