Handbook of Psychology, Volume 5, Personality and Social Psychology

CHAPTER 7

Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory of Personality

SEYMOUR EPSTEIN

159

TWO INFORMATION-PROCESSING SYSTEMS 159
Comparison of the Operating Principles
of the Two Systems 160
How the Experiential System Operates 161
The Four Basic Needs 162
The Four Basic Beliefs 163
Interaction of the Experiential and Rational Systems 164
The Lower and Higher Reaches
of the Experiential System 165
PSYCHODYNAMICS 166
The Influence of Early-Acquired Beliefs
on Maladaptive Behavior 166
The Influence of Early-Acquired Motives
on Maladaptive Behavior 167

RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR THE CONSTRUCT

VALIDITY OF CEST 169

Research on the Operating Principles

of the Experiential System 169

Research on Individual Differences 173

Summary and Conclusions Regarding Research

Support for CEST 175

IMPLICATIONS OF COGNITIVE-EXPERIENTIAL

SELF-THEORY FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY

AND RESEARCH 176

Implications for Psychotherapy 176

Implications for Research 180

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 181

REFERENCES 182

Cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST) is a broadly inte-
grative theory of personality that is compatible with a variety
of other theories, including psychodynamic theories, learn-
ing theories, phenomenological self-theories, and modern
cognitive scientific views on information processing. CEST
achieves its integrative power primarily through three as-
sumptions. The first is that people process information by two
independent, interactive conceptual systems, a preconscious
experiential systemand a consciousrational system.By intro-
ducing a new view of the unconscious in the form of an expe-
riential system, CEST is able to explain almost everything that
psychoanalysis can and much that it cannot, and it is able to do
so in a scientifically much more defensible manner. The sec-
ond assumption is that the experiential system is emotionally
driven. This assumption permits CEST to integrate the pas-
sionate phallus-and-tooth unconscious of psychoanalysis
with the “kinder, gentler” affect-free unconscious of cognitive
science (Epstein, 1994). The third assumption is that four

basic needs, each of which is assumed in other theories to be

the one most fundamental need, are equally important accord-

ing to CEST.

In this chapter, I review the basic assumptions of CEST,

summarize the research conducted to test the theory, and note

the implications of the theory for research and psychotherapy.

TWO INFORMATION-PROCESSING SYSTEMS

According to CEST, humans operate by two fundamental

information-processing systems: a rational system and an

experiential system. The two systems operate in parallel and

are interactive. CEST has nothing new to say about the ratio-

nal system, other than to emphasize the degree to which it is

influenced by the experiential system. CEST does have a

great deal to say about the experiential system. In effect,

CEST introduces a new system of unconscious processing in

the experiential system that is a substitute for the unconscious

system in psychoanalysis. Although like psychoanalysis,

CEST emphasizes the unconscious, it differs from psycho-

analysis in its conception of how the unconscious operates.

Before proceeding further, it should be noted that the word

rationalas used in the rational systemrefers to a set of

This chapter includes material from several other chapters and arti-
cles as well as new information. The research reported here was sup-
ported by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Research
Grant MH 01293 and NIMH Research Scientist Award 5 KO5 MH
00363.