Taylor, S.E., Adjustment to Threatening Life Events: A Theory of Cognitive
Adaptation. American Psychologist, 1983,38,1161-1173.
This paper is about a theory of cognitive adaptation in threatening
events. The researcher believes that this adjustment process has three
themes:
1. Search for meaning in the experience
2. Attempt to regain mastery of the experience and of their lives in general
3. Restoral of self-esteem through self-evaluation
Furthermore, she believes that people success resides on the maintenance
of illusions of a positive nature about the events or effects. Most of
her views comes from working with breast cancer patients.
People who have "severe personal setbacks" can remarkably come
back from adversity quickly and completely.
The Search for Meaning
This involves understanding the event and its impact. Most patients had
theories about the cause of their cancer. The cancer also caused them to
reappraise their lives and reorder their priorities.
Gaining a Sense of Mastery
Many cancer patients firmly believe they can keep the cancer from coming
back, especially through a positive attitude or psychological techniques
like meditation, positive thinking, self-hypnosis. Many also believed the
initial cause of the cancer was no longer in effect (like stress). Many
made dietary changes or reducing potential carcinogens.
Process of Self-Enhancement
The patients tried to restore self-esteem, seemily by making downward comparisons
to people who had adjusted worse than they did, or those who were less fortunate
than they were. "Physically disadvantaged but successful copers were
seen as role models".
Implications of Cognitive Adaptation for Cognitive Processing
"It seems that the specific form of the cognitions patients hold is
less important than then the functionas the cognitions serve". Also,
a cognition can mean different things in different people and situations,
they may be functionally overlapping, and they may satisty many functions
at once.
Illusion As Essential to Normal Cognitive Functioning
As you see in this study, causes are created for cancers when no known causality
exists. Belief in personal control of the cancer is highly suspect too.
These illusions seem to be powerful coping mechanisms.
Other studies have shown denial to also be a coping mechanism in some situations.
Attribution research shows that people attribute good things to themselves
more than bad things. Normal people tend to be overly optimistic.
Disconfirmation of the Cognitive Management of Threat
What happens when those illusory beliefs are shown to be wrong? It seems
that contrary to current theory they have less impact than expected, because
people usually have multiple ways to achieve a goal or belief.