Questions and Answers

Abstract

As a therapist using a cognitive-behavioral approach to treating eating disorders, I devote a significant part of my work to changing irrational ideas that perpetuate the disordered eating and related behaviors. Typically. part of each session is devoted to helping the patient recognize her irrational thoughts and encouraging her to substitute more realistic ideas. Like many cognitive-behavioral therapists (e.g., Fairburn, 1985, Hsu et al., 1991), I use cognitive restructuring techniques, such as asking questions, encouraging hypothesis testing, and offering information, that counter irrational beliefs about food and weight. One problem I have encountered with this approach is that frequent repetition may be required. Issues such as body image, dieting, emotional coping, and self-esteem reemerge in almost every session. Yet I become uncomfortable if I feel that I am repeating the same cognitive restructuring techniques too often. As a partial solution to this problem, I find that the following analogies and comparisons are helpful. They make it easier for the patient to identify her own thought patterns and to recognize the illogical assumptions in these thoughts. As therapy progresses they can serve as a shorthand that reduces the necessity for didactic discussions about irrational thinking.     

Prejudice Toward People With Cancer or AIDS: Applying the Integrated Threat Model

Two experiments applied the integrated threat theory of prejudice to predicting attitudes toward people with terminal cancer or AIDS. The measures, which were designed to assess the components of the model (realistic threats, symbolic threats, inter group anxiety, and negative stereotypes), were reliable and generally predictive of attitudes. The theory predicted attitudes toward AIDS better than attitudes toward cancer, perhaps because more people believe that they are likely to become a member of the cancer out-group. The benefits of applying social psychological theory to health issues are discussed along with suggestions for future research.