Specific Irrational Beliefs Research Articles

When the Dark Employee Takes an Irrational Turn: Exploring the Intersection of Dark Personality Traits and Work-Related Beliefs

An individual’s disposition towards work is influenced by various factors, including cognitive perception of reality. The attitudes individuals hold towards work are not always based on rational thinking and are also influenced by personality traits. Current research findings suggest that personality traits predict irrational beliefs, which in turn lead to different forms of maladjustment. These personality traits, commonly referred to as the Dark Triad, encompass Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. These traits exhibit several shared characteristics with workaholism, a condition associated with irrational beliefs pertaining to work performance. This study aimed to explore the associations between irrational beliefs regarding work and the aversive personality traits. The results indicated a positive correlation between Machiavellianism and work-related irrational beliefs, particularly in relation to failure and control. Narcissism exhibited a positive association with co-workers’ approval. Psychopathy demonstrated a significant positive correlation with control and a negative correlation with performance demands. Regression models were employed to explain the variance in work-related irrational beliefs, ranging from 5.4 to 8.3%. This research builds upon previous studies that have examined workaholism, irrational beliefs, and personality traits, mostly Big Five. By linking the Dark Triad to specific irrational beliefs about work, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of how detrimental personality traits can influence workplace dynamics and individual work attitudes, extending beyond the broader categories typically studied under the Big Five personality traits. This insight is valuable for developing targeted interventions to address and mitigate the impact of these traits in professional settings.

Algorithm of conceptualization in rational-emotional-behavioral therapy by A. Ellis

The object of this research is the practical principles of rational-emotional-behavioral therapy (REBT) by A. Ellis. The subject of the research is the specifics of the formation of the conceptualization of the client within the framework of a rational-emotional-behavioral approach. The aim of this research is to develop an algorithm for compiling client conceptualization in the therapeutic direction under consideration based on the systematization of activating events, irrational beliefs, key contesting counterarguments and rational statements. The conceptualization developed in this research also allows the client to form abstract ideas about problematic areas of life, to discover common cognitive behavioral patterns ("schemes") peculiar to him, to derive abstract irrational beliefs and rational statements (a new effective philosophy) and behaviorally reinforce the latter in order to realize significant (including global) life goals and values. The methodological basis of the work is the research of the founders and representatives of rational-emotional-behavioral and cognitive psychotherapy. The main result of the conducted research is the developed REBT conceptualization, which until now was absent in rational-emotional-behavioral therapy, but is actively used in a related psychotherapeutic approach – A. Beck's cognitive therapy. The presented conceptualization and the described algorithm of its compilation contribute to eliminating the risks associated with an insufficiently systematic understanding by the client of the abstract structure of his emotional and behavioral disorders during the passage of rational-emotional-behavioral therapy, known for its deep philosophical approach to solving specific problems, mainly due to philosophical disputation of specific irrational beliefs of the client. The scientific novelty of the work also lies in the description of cognitive-behavioral patterns ("schemes") characteristic of the majority of clients suffering from affective disorders, formulated on the basis of twelve typical irrational beliefs identified by A. Ellis in 1956.

Analysis of the results of application of the rational-emotive behaviour therapy for mothers of newborns with hypoxic affection of the central nervous system

Parents of hospitalized newborns tend to experience more severe psychological distress. Rel- evant to this is the impact on the specific irrational beliefs of mothers for the purpose of improving adaptation to the life situation. It is necessary to study the possibilities of cognitive- behavioral methods of intervention in working with this client category. The objective of this work is to study the dynamics of distress indicators in mothers of newborns with hypoxic affection of the central nervous system (CNS) in the process of the program developed on the basis of rational-emotive behaviour therapy (REBT). The study included 98 mothers of newborns with hypoxic affection of CNS. Based on the results of a semi-structured inter- view, 80 mothers were identified with a dysfunctional type of response to a life situation. The intervention group (N=50) received 8 REBT sessions for three weeks. The main target for psychotherapy was irrational beliefs, which underlie negative emotions and non-constructive ways coping with stress caused by hospitalization and facing information on the condition and developmental prognosis of a newborn. The control group (N=30) received one consul- tation session. To assess the dynamics of distress indicators, the Integrative Anxiety Test and Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale were used before and after the program in the intervention group and with an interval of three weeks in the control group. In the intervention group, the indicators of depression, situational anxiety, emotional discomfort and the phobic component of anxiety decreased. In the control group, the indicators of situational anxiety and asthenic component of anxiety decreased. In comparison with the control group, the mothers in the intervention group showed more significant positive changes. The programs developed on the basis of REBT have moderate efficacy in reduction of the distress in mothers of newborns with hypoxic affection of CNS.

Relationship-specific irrational beliefs and relationship satisfaction in intimate relationships

The purpose of this study is to examine the connection between relationship-specific irrational beliefs and relationship satisfaction in individuals in an intimate heterosexual relationship. A convenience sample of 294 Turkish participants (136 married and 158 dating) currently involved in a close romantic relationship completed the Personal Information Form, Relationship Assessment Scale, and Irrational Romantic Relationship Beliefs Inventory using a web-based online survey. Data were analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation analysis and standard multiple linear regression analysis. Results of this study indicated that relationship-specific irrational beliefs about different thinking and gender differences were negatively associated with relationship satisfaction in married and dating individuals. Moreover, relationship-specific irrational beliefs about the use of social time were also negatively associated with relationship satisfaction in dating individuals. The study results provide strong support for predictions of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy theory and suggest that some relationship-specific irrational beliefs are associated with relationship satisfaction in married and dating individuals. Results of this study also demonstrate that relationship therapists need to be aware the importance of disputing relationship specific irrational beliefs of clients who have relationship problems for increasing their relationship satisfaction. The study’s findings may help provide a more comprehensive understanding of the role of relationship-specific irrational beliefs in relationship satisfaction in Turkish society.

Uloga stresora na radu i iracionalnih uverenja u predikciji nastavničkog stresa

Prema teoriji Racionalno emotivno bihejvioralne terapije (REBT), iracionalna uverenja predstavljaju uzročne mehanizme uključene u nastanak psiholoških poremećaja i problema (David, Freeman, & DiGiuseppe, 2009). U praksi postoji razvijen sistem konsultativnog rada sa nastavnicima, zasnovan na identifikaciji i osporavanju specifičnih iracionalnih uverenja (Bora, Bernard, Trip, Decsei-Radu, & Chereji, 2009; Terjesen & Kurasaki, 2009). Dosadašnja istraživanja u ovoj oblasti su se ticala psihometrijske operacionalizacije iracionalnih uverenja nastavnika, kao i vezom između tih uverenja i nastavničkog stresa (Bora et al., 2009). Mi pretpostavljamo da osim uverenja postoje i specifični organizacijski izvori stresa u školama koji utiču na nivo nastavničkog stresa. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitivanje veze između izvora stresa na radu (u školama), specifičnih iracionalnih uverenja i nivoa psihološkog distresa kod nastavnog osoblja. Uzorak u istraživanju činilo je 186 nastavnika i učitelja oba pola, iz osnovnih i srednjih škola sa teritorije Zrenjanina i Sombora (Vojvodina). Prosečna starost ispitanika je 40 godina. Instrumenti korišćeni za prikupljanje podataka su: Skala nastavničkih iracionalnih uverenja (The Teacher Irrational Belief Scale – TIBS), Izvori radnog stresa (IRS) i Skala depresivnosti, anksioznosti i stresa (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale – DASS-21). Za obradu podataka korišćeno je strukturalno modelovanje. Rezultati ukazuju da i stresori na radu i iracionalna uverenja imaju direktnog uticaja na distres. Uverenja, dakle, predstavljaju parcijalne medijatore u ovoj vezi. To je očekivan rezultat koji je objašnjen razlikovanjem 'zdravog' i 'nezdravog' emocionalnog odgovora u REBT teoriji i praksi.

Content Analyses of the Beliefs of Academic Procrastinators

Although relevant nomothetically-based personality literature has made great advances in recent years correlating traits to measures of procrastination, little is known about the specific irrational beliefs of procrastinators, especially when they are actively avoiding tasks or situations. Based on theories from Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), it was hypothesized that compared to non-procrastinators, college student academic procrastinators would show greater self depreciation, greater other depreciation, greater life condition depreciation, and a lower frustration tolerance. Academic procrastination was operationally defined by quartile distributions on two self- report measures and three classroom-based assignments. Procrastinators and non-procrastinating students were given instructions to write approximately 500 words about their thoughts and feelings while they were in the process of actively putting off a specific, real event. While actually procrastinating, students logged on to a web site and made text entries describing what was going through their minds. Data were analyzed with the Psychiatric Content and Diagnosis Program Version 3 (PCAD 3; Gottschalk and Bechtel in Psychiatric content and diagnosis: the PCAD 3. GB Software, Brighton, MI, 2007). Procrastinators and non-procrastinators differed on relevant PCAD scales, supporting the hypotheses derived from REBT theory. Treatment implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Why am I unsatisfied? Adult attachment style, gendered irrational relationship beliefs, and young adult romantic relationship satisfaction

Are individual differences in adult attachment styles (secure, anxious-ambivalent, or avoidant) associated with differential adherence to relationship-specific irrational beliefs? Does endorsement of irrational relationship beliefs relate to actual relationship dissatisfaction? These questions were explored with a sample of 118 male and female college students. Results indicated that insecure individuals (anxious-ambivalent or avoidant) endorsed significantly more relationship-specific irrational beliefs than those with a secure adult attachment style. Gendered patterns of endorsement of specific irrational beliefs cluster were also observed. Further, both an insecure adult attachment style and stronger adherence to relationship-specific irrational beliefs were related to diminished relationship satisfaction.

An Attempt to Improve Self-Esteem by Modifying Specific Irrational Beliefs

In a double-blind study, subjects with low to moderate self-esteem received either of two cognitive restructuring interventions. The experimental treatment addressed specific irrational beliefs previously found to be correlated with low self-esteem; the control treatment focused on irrational beliefs not empirically related to self-esteem. Each intervention produced appropriate changes on targeted irrationality measures. The pattern of changes on targeted and nontargeted irrationality scales, however, suggests that improvements in specific rationality readily generalize, a phenomenon which may have obscured posttest differences between the two interventions on a battery of self-esteem measures. Nevertheless, the self-esteem improvements of subjects within each treatment were consistently related to changes on the previously linked beliefs, and conversely, only sporadically related to changes on the nonlinked beliefs.

Attributional and Irrational Cognitions, Depression and (Threat of) Job Redundancy

The attributional reformulation of the learned helplessness model as well as the rational-emotive model make predictions about the nature of cognitions which are hypothesized to be related to depressive affect. In the present research for 27 (ex-)employees of a firm, who had recently been made redundant or lived with the threat of redundancy, whether attributional and irrational cognitions are related to depression was examined. For both types of cognitions, general and situation-specific, i.e., concerning the (threat of) job redundancy, beliefs were assessed. None of the attribution measures for bad events correlated significantly with depression. Both general and specific irrational beliefs were significantly associated with depression.

The measurement of expectancies and other cognitions in depressed individuals

The aim of the study was to clarify the dimensionality and the degree of interrelatedness of measures of cognitions hypothesized by Beck (expectancies),Ellis (irrational beliefs),and Rehm (self-reinforcement)to be important for depression. Depressives were found (a)to have higher expectancies for negative and lower expectancies for positive events pertaining to the self but not for “world” events, (b)to report experiencing a greater number of negative and a fewer number of positive thoughts pertaining to the self but not the “world,” and (c)to subscribe to specific irrational beliefs but not to others. In addition, relatively specific expectancies, thoughts, and irrational beliefs which appear to be uniquely related to depression were identified.

Relationships between Rational beliefs and anxiety

The relationships between rationality, as measured by the recently developed Rational Behavior Inventory (RBI), and several commonly used measures of anxiety are examined in both a general student sample (N =144) and a clinically tested anxious sample (N =34). Although differing aspects of rationality were related to anxiety for the two groups, consistent negative correlations were found between specific irrational beliefs and measures of test, state, and trait anxiety. The observed relationships of decreased rationality associated with increased levels of anxiety lend support to the theoretical basis of cognitive restructuring forms of therapy, and to the concurrent validity of the RBI.

Rational Suggestions for Pre‐Marital Counseling

Pre‐marital counseling purports to help clients discover and challenge unrealistic expectations they may have for themselves and for one another. Rational‐Emotive Therapy (RET) is ideally suited to locating and correcting irrational thoughts that precipitate personal and interpersonal conflict. In order to demonstrate the utility of RET pre‐marital counseling, this article presents examples of specific irrational beliefs which clinicians can use to help couples develop and maintain intimacy with minimal conflict. Mental health practitioners are encouraged to apply these principles to other specific irrationalities they may discover in their own work experience.

Irrational beliefs and nonassertive behavior

Nonassertive individuals completed a measure of Ellis's irrational beliefs. Subjects were then divided into a high-endorsement and a low-endorsement group. Subjects who endorsed the irrational beliefs were observed to be less assertive and described themselves as more uncomfortable when role-playing assertion situations. In addition, the high-endorsement group described themselves as less frequently assertive in real life and as far more uncomfortable when confronted with assertion situations. Discussion focused on the specific irrational beliefs endorsed by nonassertive subjects.