Personality theories: Ellis (Helen Walters)

How are humans thought to think

like scientists, constantly evaluating the world around them

Who developed the Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)

Ellis, in 1955

What is Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)

an action-oriented therapeutic approach that encourages emotional growth by helping people replace their self-defeating (irrational) thoughts, feelings, and actions with new and more effective ones

What are the two main concepts in REBT

• rational thought

• irrational (self-defeating) thought

How does Ellis define rational thought

in the context that all people have fundamental goals, purposes, and values in life that underlie their attempts to first stay alive and then be happy

Acting in what way can help achieve the goals of rational thought

acting rationally (self-helpful)

• however, when people act irrationally (self-defeating), it can sabotage these goals

Ellis argues that ‘emotions’ and feelings of ‘emotional disturbance’ are due to …

our own thoughts

• he suggests that people disturb themselves, and it is their own unreasonable, or irrational, ideas that make them feel anxious, depressed, self-hating, angry, self-pitying about anything

• our emotions are perhaps not caused by other people but by how we think

What approach do these ideas describe: emotions depend on interpretation, the same situation can cause different emotions, and emotions are shaped by thinking

• they describe a cognitive approach (e.g. cognitive appraisal / CBT)

• this view argues that emotions are influenced by how we interpret and think about events, not directly by the events or other people themselves

What is a logico-empirical approach

an approach to theory-building that emphasises logical consistency and empirical testing using observable data

What do the ABC of emotional disturbance stand for

• A - activating experience

• B - beliefs

• C - consequences (emotional or behavioural)

Give an example of an ABC model

• A - e.g. losing job, family problems

• B - e.g. thoughts, values, perspectives about what happened at A

• C - e.g. depression, anxiety, anger

What type of thinking leads to self-defeating consequences

• ‘crooked thinking’

or

• ‘cognitive slippage’

What does ‘crooked thinking’ or ‘cognitive slippage’ create

• shoulds

• oughts

• musts

• commands and demands

What alternates our approach to a situation

something bad that happened in the past that later affects your life

• learn from past experiences, don’t be overly attached to them

• accept that the world is not fair, and it’s important to hold people accountable but some escape it sometimes

• it is better to do rather than always need to do well, and accept fallibilities (mistakes) as humans

What are four other common irrational beliefs

• need for approval

  • “to be happy, I must be loved by the people who are important to me”

• demands about others

  • “most people who have been unfair to me are generally bad individuals”

• awfulising

  • “it is terrible when things do not go the way that I would like”

• emotions are externally caused

  • “I cannot help how I feel when everything is going wrong”

What is Ellis’s view on rational and irrational thinking in development

• Ellis proposed that humans are born with the ability to think both rationally and irrationally

  • because caregivers also have irrational tendencies, children rarely experience a fully rational upbringing

What else is associated with irrational beliefs

• high levels of anxiety

• high levels of depression

• social dysfunction

• isolation and withdrawal

• anger, guilt, and jealousy

• relationship problems

• problems of dealing with criticism

• lack of control over situations

• low self-esteem

Ellis saw the main aim of psychotherapy is to help individuals reduce the MUSTs. REBT is designed to help individuals acquire the following six personality traits:

• self-interest

• self-direction

• tolerance

• acceptance of uncertainty

• flexibility

• self-acceptance

Give an example of how an irrational belief might influence mood outcomes

• “to be a worthwhile person, I must be thoroughly competent in everything I do”

make a mistake

• depressive symptoms through feeling like a ‘worthless’ person

or

• “well these things happen … practice makes perfect” (flexible)

What did David et al. (2018) find about the effectiveness of REBT

a systematic review and meta-analysis found that REBT showed a medium effect size in reducing irrational beliefs and improving emotional and behavioural outcomes (e.g. anxiety, depression, distress) compared to other interventions

• a medium effect size means REBT had a moderate, practically meaningful impact

What does effect size mean

tells you how big or meaningful the treatment effect is, not just whether it exists

• small effect = slight improvement

• medium effect = clear, noticeable improvement

• large effect = strong, substantial improvement

What did King et al. (2024) find about REBT

a systematic review of 162 studies found that REBT is associated with significant improvements in irrational beliefs and mental health outcomes

How can Ellis’s theory (REBT) be critically evaluated

• description

  • Ellis provides very clear descriptions on systems to uncover the cognitive and belief structures of individuals

 

• explanation

  • Ellis has a clear system for understanding and exploring the structure of an individual's cognitions, specifically referencing the ABC model

    • the approach provides insights into individual uniqueness but can be criticised for focusing heavily on the individual's thought processes

 

• empirical validity

  • the most heavily researched theory in contemporary psychology

 

• comprehensiveness

  • considers the effects of the individual's belief system, emotional state, and history of learning. It addresses both rational and irrational behaviour

 

• parsimony

  • Ellis' theory has been described as simplistic due to its relatively few concepts

    • however, Ellis defended his approach by arguing that many groundbreaking ideas appear simple. While the theory seems straightforward, its application is more complex

 

• testable concepts

  • easy to test and come up with hypotheses for testing in research and practice

 

• heuristic value (how useful or insightful)

  • cognitive theories, like those of Ellis, are among the fastest-growing and most researched

 

• applied value

  • Ellis' work has been applied in a wide range of fields including clinical psychology, business, education, and personal growth