Cognitive Models of Marital Distress & Rx

Cognitive Models of Marital Distress & Rx

Note: Please reread the Halford and Brehns article in pkt)

I. Five Cognitive Phenomena
(Baucom & Epstein, 1990: Cognitive Behavioral; Martial Therapy)

A. Perceptions --about WHAT events occur

B. Attributions - about WHY events occur]

C. Expectancies -- predictions of what events WILL occur

D. Assumptions -- about the nature of the world, r's among events

E. Beliefs and Standards -- about what SHOULD be

II. Criteria for Evaluating Appropriateness of Cognitions

A. How VALID is representation of reality

(Does the cognition predict accurately?)

B. How REASONABLE is the explanation, given no objective reality

C. Presence of AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS

D. Awareness of ILLUSORY correlations

Failures of causal thinking

        E. Relationship Beliefs Inventory
                (Eidelson & Epstein measure)
                     Example of a cognitive assessment measure for use in CBMT

RELATIONSHIP BELIEFS INVENTORY
(Eidelson & Epstein, 1982, JCCP)

5 point Likert Scale:
     5 = Strongly believe True Score points
           for + and - answers
     0 = Strongly believe False
        ______________________

Disagreement is Destructive (D)

"I cannot accept it when my partner disagrees with me." +

"I like when my partner presents views different from mine." -

Mind reading is Expected (M)

"A partner should know what you are thinking and feeling without you having to tell." +

"I do not expect my partner to sense all my moods." -

Partners Cannot Change (C)

"Damages done early in a relationship probably cannot be reversed." +
"A partner can learn to become more responsive to his/her
partner's needs." -

Sexual Perfectionism (S)

    "If I cannot perform well sexually whenever my partner is in the
       mood, I would consider that I have a problem." +
   "If I'm not in the mood for sex when my partner is, I don't get upset
       about it." -

The sexes are Different (MF)

"Men and women will probably never understand the

opposite sex very well." +

"Men and women have the same basic emotional needs." -

III. Ellis's Rational Emotive Therapy

See Ellis's Web Page

A. The A--B--C model

A = activating event

B = Belief system

C = Emotional & Behavioral consequences

B. Distinguish between Marital:

Dissatisfaction --desires not met

Disturbance --dysfunctional emotions

C. A lsit of nonadaptive thought patterns THINKING

IV. Another look at Attribution

Attributions =

sought after explanations of causality

Causes may be attributed to internal or external agents;

as being stable or unstable in duration, and either

global (all inclusive) or specific.

Example: A failure may be attributed to internal agents ("It was my fault') because "I am
unintelligent" (stable) and "about everything." (global). Where would a depressed person be l
ikely to fall in the table when confronted with success.

	Internal		External
	Stable	Unstable	Stable	Unstable
Global	1	2	5	6
Specific	3	4	7	8

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