Which of the following term is related to Beck’s cognitive therapy?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → Dysfunctional cognitive structures

Option (1) Existential anxiety — Incorrect. It belongs to Frankl’s logotherapy: spiritual anxieties lead to meaninglessness, a neurotic anxiety of spiritual origin.

Option (2) Counter-transference — Incorrect. It is a term of psychoanalytic therapy, not of Beck’s cognitive therapy.

Option (3) Modelling — Incorrect. It is a behaviour therapy technique in which the client learns to behave in a certain way by observing a role model.

Option (4) Dysfunctional cognitive structures — Correct. In Aaron Beck’s cognitive therapy, childhood experiences build core schemas such as ‘I am not wanted’. A critical incident triggers them, and negative automatic thoughts follow (‘nobody loves me’). These thoughts carry cognitive distortions, and such patterns of thought are called dysfunctional cognitive structures. The therapist gently questions them until the client thinks in the opposite direction.

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.…”

“…Modelling is the procedure wherein the client learns to behave in a certain way by observing the behaviour of a role model or the therapist who initially acts as the role model. Vicarious learning, i.e. learning by observing others, is used and through a process of rewarding small changes in the behaviour, the client gradually learns to acquire the behaviour of the model.…”

“…Frankl emphasised the role of spiritual anxieties in leading to meaninglessness and hence it may be called an existential anxiety, i.e. neurotic anxiety of spiritual origin.…”