Development of the Multidimensional Scale of Irrational Beliefs (MSIB)

The Multidimensional Scale of Irrational Beliefs (MSIB) is a brief and theoretically founded measure of irrational thinking as conceptualized by Albert Ellis in his most recent works on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (e.g., Ellis, 2003). With a total of 18 items, it captures demandingness, negative self-evaluation, and low frustration tolerance as the three core aspects of irrationality. Unlike previous irrationality instruments, it is a highly reliable, purely cognitive measure and avoids measuring aspects which are consequences or correlates of irrational thinking (e.g., emotions). Three studies (N = 757) are reported that repeatedly indicate high internal consistency of all subscales (Cronbach’s alpha: .85-.90), factorial validity, and convergent validity with earlier measures