- Published: September 29, 2022
- Updated: September 29, 2022
- University / College: McGill University
- Level: Undergraduate
- Language: English
- Downloads: 3
David Burns suggests that emotions come from within. People can control their emotions because their thoughts determine how they feel about something (Burns 1). Therefore, people can have control over their emotions. One of the competing ideas is that emotions come from external factors which we may not be able to control; e. g. disasters and past events. Another view is that emotions come from biological processes in our bodies which are beyond our control.
From Branden reading, values are senses or feelings that make life worth living; a sense of pleasure and enjoyment. Values are determined by how someone estimates himself or herself – the level of one’s self-esteem and pleasure. According to Branden, moral values guide people towards the achievement of self-esteem and pleasure (Branden 32). Therefore, psychotherapists should emphasize on moral values to improve the self-esteem of their patients. Values relate to emotions because they are determined by how we think about ourselves, or judge ourselves.
On the values scale, I scored medium importance in terms of power and achievement (4. 2 and 4. 7 out of 7 respectively). My score in terms of Hedonism, self-direction, universalism and benevolence was of high importance. This shows that I have above average value-judgment. In terms of cognitive empathy, I scored 23 out of 37, showing a moderate perspective taking. My score in terms of emotional empathy is 24 out of 37, indicating moderate emotional empathy. Lastly, the dispositional mood scale recorded a score of 4. 0 out of 5. This indicates a high positive energy and affectivity as well as high activation.
Works Cited
Branden, Nathaniel. The Psychology of Self-Esteem (32nd anniversary ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001. Print.
Burns, David D. The Feeling Good Handbook: Using the New Mood Therapy in Everyday Life. New York: W. Morrow, 1989. Print.