Identify the statements that are true about Aaron Beck's cognitive therapy.
(A) His theory states that childhood experience provided by family and society develop core schemas
(B) It involves ABC analysis
(C) He claimed core schemas give rise to cognitive distortions
(D) Irrational beliefs are identified as 'must', and 'should'
(E) The illogical patterns are referred as dysfunctional cognitive structures
Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A), (C), (E) Only
(A) His theory states that childhood experience provided by family and society develop core schemas Correct. Beck’s theory of psychological distress states that childhood experiences provided by the family and society develop core schemas or systems, which include beliefs and action patterns. A child neglected by the parents, for example, develops the core schema ‘I am not wanted’.
(B) It involves ABC analysis Incorrect. The antecedent-belief-consequence (ABC) analysis is the first step of Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Therapy, not of Beck’s cognitive therapy.
(C) He claimed core schemas give rise to cognitive distortions Correct. When a critical incident, such as being publicly ridiculed by the teacher in school, triggers a core schema, it leads to negative automatic thoughts, and these are characterised by cognitive distortions, ways of thinking that distort reality in a negative manner. So the distortions grow out of the core schemas.
(D) Irrational beliefs are identified as ‘must’, and ‘should’ Incorrect. Irrational beliefs marked by ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’ are the core idea of Ellis’s RET. Beck speaks of core schemas and negative automatic thoughts.
(E) The illogical patterns are referred as dysfunctional cognitive structures Correct. The patterns of thought that distort reality are called dysfunctional cognitive structures; they lead to errors of cognition about social reality.
NCERT (2025-26): “Cognitive Therapy … Another cognitive therapy is that of Aaron Beck. His theory of psychological distress characterised by anxiety or depression, states that childhood experiences provided by the family and society develop core schemas or systems, which include beliefs and action patterns in the individual. Thus, a client, who was neglected by the parents as a child, develops the core schema of ‘I am not wanted’. During the course of life, a critical incident occurs in her/his life. S/ he is publicly ridiculed by the teacher in school. This critical incident triggers the core schema of ‘I am not wanted’ leading to the development of negative automatic thoughts. Negative thoughts are persistent irrational thoughts such as ‘nobody loves me’, ‘I am ugly’, ‘I am stupid’, ‘I will not succeed’, etc. Such negative automatic thoughts are characterised by cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions are ways of thinking which are general in nature but which distort the reality in a negative manner. These patterns of thought are called dysfunctional cognitive structures. They lead to errors of cognition about the social reality.…” “…Albert Ellis formulated the Rational Emotive Therapy (RET). The central thesis of this therapy is that irrational beliefs mediate between the antecedent events and their consequences. The first step in RET is the antecedent-belief-consequence (ABC) analysis. Antecedent events, which caused the psychological distress, are noted. The client is also interviewed to find the irrational beliefs, which are distorting the present reality. Irrational beliefs may not be supported by empirical evidence in the environment. These beliefs are characterised by thoughts with ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’, i.e. things ‘must’ and ‘should’ be in a particular manner.…” |