Cognitive-Affective Personality System

The Cognitive-Affective Personality System (CAPS) is a psychological framework that explains how an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected and influence each other. It suggests that a person’s personality isn't made up of fixed traits but consists of various personal aspects—like how they think and feel in different situations—that interact dynamically. For example, someone might behave confidently in social settings but be anxious alone. CAPS emphasizes that understanding a person's behavior involves looking at these situational patterns of thoughts and feelings, which together shape their consistent behavioral responses across different contexts.