Absolutist thinking and emotional problems

Anger is a common emotional experience which can have a very distrubing impact upon the angered person, physically and psychologically, and upon that person's relations with others. The arousal of anger can be best explained in many instances as the reaction of people when they see or anticipate the violation of their demands, that is, as reflecting absolutist thinking. Such thinking can not only lead to anger but is also believed to play an important role in promoting other emotional problems, including those of anxiety and depression. This paper characterises the absolutist style of thinking and illustrates its hypothesized role in several emotional problems using brief case histories. It is suggested that the failure of a therapist to identify absolutist thinking, when it exists, deprives the therapist of considerable leverage in handling a patient's problems and may explain the limited effectiveness of cognitive therapy for such patients.