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Cognitive Domain

Cognition
Mental processes
Thinking
Perceiving
Interpreting
Remembering
Setting goals

The approaches to personality is focus on

differences in how people process information

Four Level of Cognition

1. Perception
The process of organising information that
receive through senses

2. Interpretation
Making sense of or explaining various events in
the world
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is based on the
notion of differences in interpretation

Four Level of Cognition

(cont)

3. Conscious Goals
The standards that people develop for evaluating
themselves and others

4. Intelligence
How different types of intelligence can reveal
something about our personality

1. Personality Revealed Through Perception

i. Field Dependence vs. Field Independence

The aspects where perception plays important

role in defining personality:

Herman Witkin believes that personality can be

revealed through differences in how people
perceive their environment
Rod and Frame Test (RFT) is to investigate
individual differences in judging the orientation in
space
Field Dependence dependent on the visual field
Field Independence depend on our own
sensations

i. Field dependence vs. field independence

ii. Pain tolerance

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Rod and Frame Test (RFT)

Hidden Figures Test

Field Independence

Field Dependent vs. Field Independent:

In the Areas of Education and Interpersonal Relations

ii. Pain Tolerance

Individual differences can be shown in the way we perceive
pain or pain tolerance
Some people cannot bear the slightest pain and complain
about minor discomfort
Some people can put up with pain easily without a single
complaint
Aneseth Petrie developed a theory called the ReducerAugmenter Theory
People with low pain tolerance (augmenters) have a nervous
system that enhances or augments the subject impact of
sensory stimulation
People who can tolerate pain well (reducers) should seek out
strong stimulation in the form of substances abuse

2. Personality Revealed Through

Interpretation
George Kellys Personal Construct Theory
The constructs are the ways of perceiving and
interpreting events
We habitually employ personal constructs to help us
interpret events, particularly in the social world
Our personalities differ in terms of how we interpret
the social world

Two developments of interpretation:

i.
ii.

Locus of Control
Learned Helplessness

Locus of Control
A concept which explains an individuals perception of
responsibility for the events in life
External Locus of Control
Generalise expectations that events in life are outside of
our control

Internal Locus of Control

Generalise expectations that life events are under control
and we are responsible for our life outcomes

Julian Rotters Expectancy Model

The learning behaviour, learning depends on the degree to
which a person values a reinforcer its reinforcement
value

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The Optimistic vs. Pessimistic

Explanatory Style

Learned Helplessness
Emphasises on the thoughts a person has that
may lead to a state of helplessness
The Explanatory Styles explain on how you
employ certain attributional categories to
explain causes of events:
External or internal
Stable or unstable
Global or specific

4. Intelligence

3. Personality Revealed Through Goals

Personality can be revealed through goals
Individual goals such as personal strivings,
current concerns, personal projects and life tasks
Personal Projects Analysis method evaluating
the achievement of a goal of personal projects
Brian Little found that overall levels of happiness
and life satisfaction are related to feeling in
control of ones personal projects. This reflect
that how people find their ways with goaldirected behaviours (Carver & Scheier, 2008).

Gardner (1993) mentioned that intelligence includes

the application of cognitive skill and knowledge to
solve problems, learn and achieve goals that are valued
by individual and culture
Multiple Intelligences includes eight types of
intelligence which are:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.

Linguistic intelligence
Musical intelligence
Logical Mathematical intelligence
Naturalist intelligence
Spatial intelligence
Body Kinesthetic intelligence
Interpersonal intelligence
Intrapersonal intelligence

Approaches To Self

Self-Concept

Sometimes the self we present to others is not

the same as our own understanding of
ourselves
Three main parts of self:

The understanding of self Who am I?

This understanding developed over our
lifetime
Our self-concept plays a big role in how we
experience the self
It also influences how we process information
about ourselves

i. Self concept
ii. Self esteem
iii. Social identity

i. Self-schema
ii. Possible selves

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Development of Self-Concept

Self-Esteem
The standards or expectation for behaviour and
being fulfill, will show the sign of self-esteem
It is a general evaluation of self-concept and
yourself
People with high self-esteem are less likely to give
up and striving for success
People with low self-esteem are more likely to
perform badly and to give up faster as they
concerned in protecting their self-concept
The strategies to protect self-concept:
i.
ii.

Defensive pessimism
Self-handicapping

Social Identity
The self that is put on display for others to see
Two aspect of identity:
i.

Continuity

People depend on the same person tomorrow as like

today

Identity Crises
Identity crisis defined as anxiety that follows
efforts to identify or re-define one identity
(mid-life crisis)
i.

Identity deficit

ii. Contrast

The social identity distinguishes from others (unique)

A person is not able to form a sufficient identity and

has trouble making major decisions such as study, job
and marriage

ii. Identity conflict

Occurs when two or more aspects of identity clash