1. ActivePsych: Classroom Activities Project / Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers Managing Stress This activity introduces students to stress management through attitude adjustment. Acknowledgements: This demonstration was written by Richard Alexander, Muskegon Community College

2. ActivePsych: Classroom Activities Project / Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) The premise of RET is that situations that we think are the cause of our stress are not really the primary cause. Our beliefs and attitudes about those situations are the primary culprits. The basis for RET is the A-B-C model of personality: an Activating event occurs, but it is a person’s Beliefs about the event that are primarily responsible for generating the emotional and behavioral Consequences.

3. ActivePsych: Classroom Activities Project / Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers An Activating Event (A) A group of students felt stressed out by an upcoming test.

4. ActivePsych: Classroom Activities Project / Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers Beliefs (B) A. reasons 1 and 2 B. reasons 3 and 4 C. all of the reasons D. none of the reasons From the handout “Reasons,” which of the students’ listed beliefs are irrational?

5. ActivePsych: Classroom Activities Project / Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers Irrational Beliefs According to rational-emotive therapy (RET), unhappiness and psychological problems can often be traced to people’s irrational beliefs.

6. ActivePsych: Classroom Activities Project / Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers Consequences (C) Becoming aware of irrational beliefs is the first step toward replacing them with more rational alternatives.

7. ActivePsych: Classroom Activities Project / Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers Consider This… What can you do to manage stress the next time a situation arises that could make you feel stressed out?