Cognitive Restructuring for Anger Flashcards

A client maintains a rigid rule: 'Fair treatment is non-negotiable.' When violated, extreme anger follows. The therapist's first cognitive goal is to:

Answer: Modify the rigid rule into a flexible preference while validating the underlying value

Cognitive restructuring does not dismiss values but converts rigid demands into preferences, reducing anger while preserving the client's integrity.

Which statement best describes hostile attribution bias in anger-prone individuals?

Answer: Tending to interpret ambiguous actions by others as intentionally harmful

Hostile attribution bias is the tendency to assume malicious intent in neutral or ambiguous situations, a key cognitive driver of reactive anger.

A therapist assigns a client homework to list three alternative explanations for a coworker's rude comment. This exercise targets:

Answer: Hostile attribution bias

Generating alternative explanations directly challenges the automatic hostile attribution that triggers disproportionate anger responses.

Rumination following anger is most accurately described as:

Answer: Repetitive, passive focus on distress and its causes that sustains and amplifies anger

Rumination keeps anger alive by repeatedly replaying grievances without moving toward resolution, making it a key maintenance factor.

Which cognitive restructuring approach is most effective for a client who ruminates on past injustices?

Answer: Teaching absorption-interruption strategies combined with forward-focused reappraisal

Breaking rumination cycles and redirecting attention forward prevents the anger maintenance loop while building more adaptive thinking patterns.

A CART therapist helps a client develop a 'coping card' with key cognitive restructuring statements. The card is most useful:

Answer: As a portable in-the-moment reminder during real-life provocations

Coping cards transfer restructured cognitions into daily life, providing immediate access to adaptive thoughts when anger escalates in vivo.

When a client says 'I can't stand it when people are rude,' the REBT therapist would most likely respond by:

Answer: Exploring evidence for and against the belief that rudeness is truly unbearable

REBT challenges low frustration tolerance beliefs by examining whether the client truly 'cannot stand' the situation or merely dislikes it strongly.