ABSTRACT
Tolerance for unrealistic experience was originally defined as a perceptual cognitive control that refers to how much an individual will accept cognitive experiences that do not agree with what an individual already knows to be “true” (Klein, 1962; Koff, 1967). This style has also been described as tolerance for incongruous experiences. Tolerants appear to be in touch with external reality but are much more relaxed in their acceptance of ideas and perceptual organizations that vary from the ordinary. They consider many organizational possibilities before drawing any conclusions. Intolerants appear to make a continual effort to alter their experience to conform to ideas and perceptions from the external world. They try to quickly place new ideas and perceptions into the cognitive organizations they already possess. If no organization exists, they seek to clarify or break down the new idea or perception into manageable categories that are often unqualified or oversimplified. The intolerant individual may seek to avoid unrealistic situations because they can evoke unpleasant emotional reactions ranging from uneasiness to anxiety. Although there are clearly cognitive components to this characteristic, the emotional aspects cause us to characterize it more as a personality variable.
