In this volume, the author explores the symbolic relationship between the self and the object through a potentially illuminating lense cognition. From this perspective, objects in general, and dolls in particular, are studied as vehicles through which cognitive processes adapt and re-adapt themselves, in various and specific ways, to transform one's understanding of Self as an ongoing, overarching imaginative endeavor. Although at least some aspects of thought and emotion can and do function consciously, both the "cognitive conscious" as well as the "cognitive unconscious" are interpreted as fundamental to the creation of Self.