already familiar and within one’s conceptual reach—that is, already has been
schematized into a well-integrated cognitive-affective structure. At the same
time, this integrative function implies that knowledge that has not yet been
schematized is negated—that is, gated out by being excluded from attention,
or by being considered irrelevant or even faulty. This basic mode of function-
ing, then, is oriented towards keeping the self in a stable and inertial mode,
maintaining associations that are familiar and close to the self. A control sys-
tem of the kind just described is similar to a homeostatic system such as a
thermostat that minimizes deviations from a set point. Such a system is called
a feedback dampening or negative feedback system (e.g., Brent, 1978; Carver
& Scheier, 1995; Powers, 1973; Pribram & Gill, 1976). This name derives
from the fact that it acts to negate or reduce discrepancy, while affirming a
particular set point or image of achievement (Miller, Galanter, & Pribram,
1960) through acting in such a way that the image of achievement is kept con-
stant within a sufficiently small range of deviations.
An example is offered by the preoperational child who fails to conserve in
the familiar beaker problem. The child focuses on a single perspective—say,
width—of the beaker but in so doing gates out information relating to the
second relevant dimension, height. Alternatively, she attends to the other per-
spective while gating out the former, without being able to consider the si-
multaneous transformations in both dimensions. However, at certain junc-
tures of their development (and we will return to this issue immediately)
individuals acknowledge the resulting errors in their own conceptual con-
structions. That is, they realize gaps in their knowledge, implying that
familiar ways of organizing reality are being disequilibrated. Such disequi-
libration is not merely a passive process; rather, having grasped the implica-
tions of their gaps for possible expansion of their knowledge, individuals be-
gin to actively drive away from equilibrium.
The active process of driving away from equilibrium implies that the indi-
vidual shifts from a feedback-dampening mode to one that is aimed at ampli-
fication of affect and cognitive-affective information. The basic mode now is
no longer affirmative and stability-maintaining, but an open one as the self
actively turns to an exploration of novel information and associations. Such
active disequilibration happens as individuals inhibit automated thoughts
and behaviors and instead, begin a process of questioning, directed search,
experimentation, and consequent revision of old schemas. This process of dif-
ferentiation involves examining existing schemas and relating them to one’s
actions, to other schemas, and to new information in the external world. As a
result of this process, individuals gradually create cognitive-affective schemas
that are more differentiated, yet that involve many interconnections among
the newly differentiated components.
Amplification can imply a degree of discomfort, conflict, or even crisis as
the self ventures out into unexplored and unfamiliar territory—congruent
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