GETTING OUT OF RUTS - A LABORATORY STUDY OF A COGNITIVE MODEL OF REFRAMING

The theory of Action Identification predicts that people are more like ly to adopt a novel course of action if they concentrate on the how ra ther than the why aspects of their behavior. This study tested two hyp otheses derived from the theory: (a) Operating at a low level of actio n identification increases the likelihood of problem reframing, and (b ) High level of action identification induces perseverance with soluti ons that are compatible with currently held frames, whereas low level of action identification induces change to solutions that are compatib le with alternative frames. The hypotheses were tested by presenting s ubjects with two case descriptions of problem solving in the real worl d. The results show that Action Identification can be used as a cognit ive model of reframing.