Within our minds is a complex cognitive system of core beliefs, underlying assumptions and interpersonal strategies. All of these components work together to make up what is known as our cognitive schemata. We will go through each of these components of cognitive schemata in some detail to provide a picture of how the inner workings of our complex minds can lead us into troublesome thought patterns.
Core beliefs are unconditional beliefs that we have that allow us to screen, categorize and interpret our experiences. They play a critical role in how we understand the world and can be thought of as index cards that are filed in our brain. Each one of our core beliefs tell us what to pay attention to and how to interpret information. They shape the way we view ourselves, others and the world.
Examples of core beliefs about ourselves: I am lovable. I am incompetent. I am intelligent.
Examples of core beliefs about others: People are trustworthy. People are reliable. Everyone is just in it for themselves.
Examples of core beliefs about the world: The world is unpredictable. The world is safe. The world is dangerous.
A couple of key pieces of information about core beliefs:
1. Core beliefs are based on our past experiences. How we remember things from past situations guides how we interpret things in current situations. Let us look at an example.
Jackie grew up in a home with a mother who had unreasonably high expectations and was difficult to please. As a result of this (among other things), she developed a core belief that she is inadequate. As you could imagine, this had an impact on her self-image and confidence as an adult. She is always critical of herself and questions whether or not she is “good enough.”
2. Core beliefs are also based on our present experiences. Core beliefs maintain themselves because they are continuously reinforced. We scan our environments and select the cues that further reinforce an existing core belief, while ignoring the cues that challenge that belief. In other words, core beliefs work like mental magnets. They attract pieces of evidence that confirm what we believe and repel pieces of evidence that disconfirm what we believe.
Jackie, believing she is inadequate, pays special attention to situations she believes confirms her inadequacy (someone corrected her use of a word in a conversation, a colleague didn’t use her suggestion on a work task). Meanwhile, she ignores all of the examples that point to her being adequate (received a promotion at work, receives compliments from colleagues and friends about her talents).
Underlying assumptions are different than core beliefs. While core beliefs are unconditional and involve views that are more general, underlying assumptions are conditional beliefs that influence a person’s response to what is specifically happening around them. They often involve the use of words like “if… then.” They stem from our core beliefs about ourselves, others and the world.
Jackie, with her core belief that she is inadequate, often says to herself, "If I work somewhere long enough, eventually people will discover that I am not good enough to be here and will know that everyone else is more experienced and knowledgeable than me.”
Interpersonal strategies are assumptions about how one might be able to influence others based on their beliefs.
Jackie often says to herself, “If I spend a lot of extra time perfecting my work, then I may be able to make everyone believe I am adequate and belong here.”
All of these assumptions and beliefs lead us to have what are known as automatic thoughts. Automatic thoughts flow through our minds continuously as we are going about our day. Some of them are neutral, such as “It is hot” or “I am hungry” or “That’s a pretty color.” Some automatic thoughts are not so neutral. People with dysfunctional core beliefs and assumptions often have very unhelpful automatic thoughts, which are known as ‘cognitive distortions.’ These cognitive distortions are problematic thinking patterns that can further reinforce dysfunctional beliefs and assumptions.
For example, Jackie feels the need to perfect everything she does so as to prevent her 'inadequacy' from being discovered, and will consequently have automatic thoughts related to these assumptions. Specifically, when she got an email from her supervisor at work asking her to stop by his office, she had automatic thoughts of: "oh no, she found a lot of errors in my report,” and “what if she is calling me in to fire me?” The specific cognitive distortions in this case are mind-reading and catastrophizing.
Now that is a lot of information to digest in one sitting! Let’s do a brief overview of what we just went over.
In the situation with Jackie that we have been discussing in this post:
Situation: Supervisor emails Jackie and asks her to come by her office.
Automatic thought: Jackie's automatic thought is, 'I did something wrong and am going to get fired.' (note the cognitive distortion present in this thought--catastrophizing)
Underlying Assumption: Jackie's underlying assumptions is, 'They've discovered that my work doesn't match that of my colleagues and that I don't belong here.'
Core belief: Jackie's core belief that is influencing all of this is, 'I am inadequate.'
I hope I explained this all in a way that makes sense! Now, try and apply this to your own life. Think of a recurring automatic thought you have had that has been troublesome. Look at the list of cognitive distortions and try and see which distortion(s) best describe your automatic thought. Now, try and find a theme in these recurring or similar automatic thoughts. Can you think of some core beliefs, underlying assumptions and interpersonal strategies that might be related to these automatic thoughts?
Uncovering all of this can be a complicated process. In cognitive therapy, a great deal of work is put into identifying and modifying all of these different components of a person’s cognitive schemata to help them achieve the interpersonal change they are seeking (i.e., relief from depression or anxiety). Awareness and identification is the first step. And then doing the dirty work of challenging these beliefs and assumptions comes next through a variety of activities. Through this process, one can successfully change the way they view themselves, others and the world!
