REBT and Emotion I. A Role-Play Experiment Using A Shame/Disappointment Scenario to Investigate the Effects of Rational, Irrational and Indifference Beliefs on Inferences and Action Tendencies

Abstract

This article reports an experiment testing an REBT hypothesis that beliefs affect inferences and action tendencies. Students at Goldsmiths College, University of London, were asked to role play a shame/disappointment scenario with one of three beliefs: rational, irrational or indifference. They were then asked to rate inferences and action tendencies on scales where a high score indicated dysfunctionality. It was predicted that the irrational group would score higher than the rational group, and that the indifference group would score lower than the rational group. From a sample of 89 students, 60 met the criteria for inclusion in the study. A between subjects design, a MANOVA and t-tests were used to analyse the data; the alpha level for all families of tests was 0. 05. The irrational group scored significantly higher than the rational group on both the inference and the action tendency scales. The indifference group scored significantly lower than the rational group on the action tendency scale. There was no significant difference between the rational and indifference group's scores on the inference scale.