The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among irrational beliefs, stress, and social problem solving ability in order to provide further empirical information relevant to a more comprehensive social problem solving training model. / Seventy-four female college students participated in two separate phases of the study. During the first phase, subjects completed the Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT) (Jones, 1969). Based on their endorsement of certain irrational beliefs, subjects were placed into either a high-irrational or low-irrational group. During the second phase of this study, subjects from each of these two groups were randomly assigned to either a high-stress or low-stress condition. They then completed a modified version of the Means-Ends Problem Solving Procedure (MEPS) (Platt & Spivack, 1975) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-A State (STAI-A State) (Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970). Results on the dependent measure (modified MEPS) were analyzed with a 2 x 2 (belief x stress condition) analysis of variance. Results on the manipulation check (STAI-A State) were analyzed with a t-test. / The findings of the study suggest that adherence to irrational beliefs was not associated with performance on a social problem solving task, either in general (main effects) or in an evaluatively stressful condition (interaction effects). Main effects were found for the stress condition: Subjects in the high-stress condition scored significantly lower on the modified MEPS task than subjects in the low-stress condition. However, when asked to report on their perceived level of anxiety (STAI-A State) during the completion of the modified MEPS task, both the high- and low-stress groups reported nearly equal levels. The implications of these results, along with suggestions for further research, were discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-08, Section: A, page: 2889. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75902 |
| Contributors | CHASE, KEVIN P., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 162 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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