Was ging in ihm vor? Laientheorien über kognitive und emotionale Vorgänge eines Selbstmörders

Tested Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy’s (REBT; Ellis, 1962,
1994) assumption that irrational beliefs and maladaptive emotions
are associated with dysfunctional behaviors, whereas rational
cognitions and adaptive emotions lead to functional actions.
Participants read newspaper articles about the defeat of a boxer.
In one condition, the (authentic) article informed participants
that he committed suicide, and in a second (fictitious) article
about the same defeat, the athlete was described as successfully
resuming his career. Participants’ assumptions about the stimulus
person’s defeat-related cognitions and emotions were assessed on
rating scales and via sentence completion and free responses.
Participants responding to the suicide scenario assumed
significantly more irrational beliefs (e.g., ”I absolutely have to
win”) on the side of the boxer regarding his defeat than controls
in the fictitious non-suicide version. This finding was obtained by
all assessment methods. Additionally, participants expected the
suicidal stimulus person to be experiencing maladaptive emotions
(e.g., depression, guilt), whereas the stimulus person who
successfully resumed his career was expected to experience adaptive
affects (e.g., sadness, concern). Subsequent ratings of the
functionality of selected emotions revealed that sadness, fear,
annoyance, and concern were rated to be more functional than
depression, anxiety, rage, and guilt.