Relationships Between Rational Beliefs and Anxiety 1

The relationships between rationality, as measured by the recently de-veloped Rational Behavior Inventory (RBI), and several commonly used measures of anxiety are examined in both a general student sample (N = 144) and a clinically tested anxious sample (N = 34). AIthough differing aspects of rationality were related to anxiety for the two groups, consistent negative correlations were found between specific irrational beliefs and measures of test, state, and trait anxiety. The observed relationships of decreased rationality associated with increased levels of anxiety lend support o the theoretical basis of cognitive restructuring forms of therapy, and to the concurrent validity of the RBI. The recent trend toward incorporating cognitively based procedures into the general practice of behavior therapy (Mahoney, 1977; Meichenbaum, 1977) is based upon the theory that the rationality of an individual's personal belief systems and internal self-statements is largely responsible for his emotional and behavioral responses. Numerous clinical outcome studies attest o the efficacy of such cognitively based therapies (Ellis & Grieger, 1977), and several correlational studies have found associations between the degree of irrationality of a subject's beliefs and the degree of psycho-pathology. For example, using the Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT) developed by Jones (1969) and several measures of emotional arousal, Goldfried and Sobocinski (1975) found significant correlations between specific aspects of irrational beliefs and measures of state, trait, and achievement anxiety