What is a Cognitive Script? A cognitive script is the mental image that we have in our head about a certain event or situation. For example, if you are going to give a speech, you might know what will be happening and how it will go because your mental picture of this event includes things like opening with pleasantries, giving an introduction, talking about points and then closing with some final remarks. The script consists of the situation, what each person is doing in that moment and how they are feeling. It also includes what you might say or think as part of this event. We know cognitive scripts can be useful because we use them to prepare for events by anticipating our feelings and thoughts about them so we feel more confident going into it. By writing out a rough plan for an upcoming presentation before practicing your speech over and over again, you will have created a mental image map – aka cognitive script- which prepares us mentally for whatever may happen during the experience. We also rely on these scripts to help us recall certain memories from long ago where some details were forgotten along the way (but not all). A(an)
