In rational emotive behavior therapy, which sequence explains how an activating event leads to beliefs and then to consequences?

• A. A-B-C model
• B. Stimulus-Response-Reinforcement
• C. C-D-E framework
• D. S-O-R model

Answer: (A)

In REBT, the key idea is that our emotional and behavioral outcomes come from our beliefs about what happened, not from the event itself. The sequence Activating event → Beliefs → Consequences captures this perfectly: an event occurs, we form beliefs about it (often irrational or rational), and those beliefs drive the emotional and behavioral consequences.

This framing is central because it highlights cognitive mediation—the beliefs we hold determine how we feel and act. If the event were the direct cause of the consequence, the response would be the same no matter what we think about it, which REBT argues isn’t the case.

The other sequences don’t fit as precisely. Stimulus-Response-Reinforcement describes behavior as directly triggered by a stimulus and shaped by reinforcement, bypassing the belief component entirely. The C-D-E framework in REBT focuses on disputing and altering beliefs after consequences have occurred, rather than explaining how beliefs originate from the activating event. The Stimulus-Organism-Response model introduces an organism as a mediator, but it’s a broader framework that doesn’t specify the belief-driven chain REBT emphasizes.