| Abstract: | Evaluated the extent to which endorsement of irrational beliefs as measured by the Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT) was associated with subjective, physiological, and cognitive indices (e.g., Trait scale of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory and Fear of Negative Evaluation Questionnaire scores) of emotional distress in response to a stressful event delivered in a controlled experiment. 62 undergraduates served as Ss. Beliefs relevant to the stressor were more associated with negative cognitions than was either a belief less relevant to the stressor or general irrational thinking. However, a measure of the fear of negative evaluation was more frequently associated with measures of distress than were irrational beliefs. The equivalent and perhaps greater predictive utility of a more parsimonious, less inferential individual difference variable was interpreted as challenging the construct validity of the IBT and perhaps questioning the necessity of postulating the existence of irrational beliefs in accounts of the arousal of emotional distress. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
