Core Principles
What are "schemas?"
Internalized representations of the world, or patterns of thought, action, and problem solving that helps organize information
Why is advocacy an important tool in macro-level application of Cognitive Theory?
Advocacy is founded to change public perceptions/schemas and create an environment in which their cognitions can thrive instead of be discriminated against.
Who said this?
"What we see changes what we know. What we know changes what we see"
Jean Piaget
True or False?
People are motivated by innate drives to act in certain ways.
False!
Rather we develop ways of thinking/behaving through habits that can be altered as we gather new info
How does a social worker show cultural competence while using cognitive theory?
Social workers understand and respect client inherent cultural values, as well as know how dominant societal constructs/beliefs influence the perceptions of problems.
According to Dr. Albert Ellis, what is the main cause of distressing emotions?
Irrational Beliefs
What are "exaggerated or irrational thought patterns that cause people to see reality inaccurately" called?
High effectiveness in psychopathology
Experimental in nature, producing more clear cause-and-effect relationships that account for confounding variables
Highly structured in nature, producing clear univeral standards and techniques for practice
What major theorist of Cognitive Theory introduced the idea of negativism as the main cognitive bias in depressed individuals' schemas?
Aaron Beck
What is the most important thing that influences our assumptions and coping strategies?
Perceptions of the world (life experience)
What is one critique against the application of cognitive theory?
Fails to incorporate the relational, unconscious, and environmental influences
"Abnormal" is socially constructed by dominant social groups.
Exact influence of cognitive processes unknown and largely debated.
According to Jean Piaget, what are the four stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor Stage
Preoperational Stage
Concrete Operational Stage
Formal Operational Stage
A child believes that all four legged animals are dogs. One day, the child sees a cat in the front lawn and exclaims "doggy!" but is soon corrected by his friend. The child now knows that cats are different than dogs. How has the child's schema shifted?
The child's schema has changed through accommodation of new information, creating a new thought structure to view animals through.
Name one population that Cognitive Theory shows to have strong results with?
Children
Adolescents
Individuals suffering from mental disorders
According to Sharon Berlin, what must Cognitive Theory address in social work in order to be used effectively?
The client's life experiences and interpersonal standing/events.