Dynamic Operations of Thought Systems

Our research program focuses on thought systems consisting of a core event that might befall a person and other topics evoked in free associating on this event, mostly its salient antecedents and consequences. We theorize that the pattern of salient antecedents and consequences evoked by the core event are related to its judged desirability and likelihood by several adaptive principles, such that when a change is directly induced in one part of the belief system it produces predictable remote adjustments in other parts. In a first experiment we manipulated the core event's judged desirability or likelihood and tested for predicted remote effects on the salience of antecedents and consequences. A second experiment conversely manipulated the salience of antecedents or consequences and tested for predicted remote effects on the core event's judged desirability and likelihood.