Course Overview

Class Goals

Today's Objectives:

  1. Look into how a wandering mind and negative thoughts affect us.

  2. Learn about Albert Ellis and Rational Emotive Therapy (RET).

  3. Get practical skills to handle negative thoughts, including reviewing note-taking, scheduling, and active recall methods.

Daily Experience and Response Record (A-B-C Model)

Procedure:

  • A - Identify the activating event (what happened or what you thought).

  • B - Write down the thoughts the situation caused.

  • C - See how these thoughts affect your mood and actions.

  • R - Check if your thoughts are exaggerating the situation (like "catastrophizing").

  • G - Think about three positive actions you took that day that made you feel good about yourself.

Philosophical and Historical Context of Thought

  • Historical Figures:

    • Wilhelm Wundt started the scientific study of thought in the 1890s with experiments on how people react to stimuli.

    • In the 1990s, methods like "experience sampling" identified thoughts throughout the day, but they weren't complete.

    • A 2010 study titled "A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind" by Killingsworth and Gilbert used a mobile app to study people's thought patterns and how they affected happiness.

Key Findings from Killingsworth & Gilbert's Study

  • Sample: 2250 adults (58.8% male), average age 34.

  • Findings:

    • Minds wandered often (47% of the time) even during activities like sex (10%).

    • Happiness dropped when minds wandered, no matter the activity: 42.5% of wandering thoughts were pleasant, while 26% were unpleasant.

    • This indicates that maintaining focus is crucial for overall well-being, as distractions can significantly detract from enjoyment.

    • The average happiness rating was 38/100 when minds were wandering, compared to 58/100 when focusing on work.

Albert Ellis and Rational Emotive Therapy (RET)

Background

  • Ellis, born in 1913, studied at Columbia University.

  • He started as a psychoanalyst but switched to a new method called Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET) in 1955.

  • RET is based on the premise that emotional disturbances are largely a result of irrational beliefs, and it focuses on changing these beliefs to improve mental health. By challenging and restructuring these thoughts, individuals can alleviate their emotional distress and enhance their overall well-being.

  • This approach has since evolved into a widely recognized and effective form of psychotherapy that empowers clients to take control of their emotional lives.

  • RET aims to help people understand and change their irrational beliefs that cause emotional distress.

Core Concepts of Rational Emotive Therapy

  • It's not events themselves that make us emotional, but what we believe about those events.

  • Common Irrational Beliefs:

    • "I need to be perfect; Everyone I know must like me; Failing is a total disaster; I should avoid everything unpleasant;" etc.

    • "I must always be in control; My happiness depends on others; I can’t stand it when things are not as I want them to be; There is something wrong with me if I am not happy all the time."

The ABC Model in Rational Emotive Therapy

  • A - Activating Event: Any event that causes a reaction.

  • B - Beliefs about the event, which can lead to emotional and behavioral reactions.

  • C - Consequences, which are the results of these beliefs on your mood, actions, and how you see yourself.

  • Example: Missing a party might lead to negative thoughts about yourself and then avoiding social situations.

Negative Thoughts and Their Consequences

  • We can have up to 5000 negative thoughts per year.

  • If you are self-critical at age 12, you're likely to participate less in activities and achieve less academically by age 31.

  • Thinking over negative daily experiences repeatedly can lead to increased sadness.

Fused Thoughts

  • This refers to when negative thoughts become tightly linked with your identity and experiences, often causing intense anxiety.

  • People might avoid dealing with negative thoughts, which makes the cycle of fear and avoidance even stronger.

Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-2)

  • This tool measures how open you are to your thoughts and feelings.

  • Higher scores mean you have trouble accepting your thoughts, which is linked to worse mental health.

  • Stephen Hayes developed it to see how negative thoughts affect how well someone functions.

Strategies for Dealing with Negative Thoughts

  1. Give your thoughts a name.

  2. Use relaxation techniques to stop negative thought patterns.

  3. Check if your negative beliefs are actually true.

  4. Try behavioral experiments.

  5. Look at negative situations from a more helpful viewpoint.

  6. Use metaphors and visualizations to separate yourself from emotions.

  7. Practice self-compassion and challenge your inner critic.

  8. Journaling can help to clarify thoughts and feelings.

Homework Assignments

Homework Tasks

  • Students need to identify negative thoughts, check if bad outcomes are truly likely, and write down positive experiences. This helps change how they see things.

  • Tasks are submitted via Brightspace. Deadlines focus on how these tasks relate to theories, methods, and policies.

Behavioral Experiments

  • This applies Ellis's idea that facing your fears and not letting negative predictions control you helps reduce anxiety. This is shown with personal stories.

  • Example: Ellis’ challenge involves doing something absurd (like walking with a banana), offering a funny but direct way to confront fear.

Summary of Today's Class:

  1. We discussed how wandering thoughts affect happiness.

  2. We learned about Albert Ellis’s RET as an early framework for cognitive therapy.

  3. We reviewed six strategies to effectively manage negative thinking:

    • Naming thoughts

    • Using breathing techniques

    • Fact-checking

    • Behavioral experiments

    • Rethinking situations

    • Using imagery and metaphors to disconnect from emotions.

Final Notes and Reflection

  • Homework helps students use the strategies they've learned, encouraging self-reflection and growth in daily challenges.

  • It's important to track your progress and achievements to build a positive mindset and handle tough times better.