Daniel DAVID*
Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Abstract
E-Prime refers to a linguistic tool developed from the General Semantics framework in order to increase the clarity of thoughts and communication. Compared to E-Standard (i.e., standard and/or classic English), E-Prime argues that the verb “to be”– in the forms of “is” of identity and “is” of predication – has structural problems, confusing the “map” (e.g., mental representations) and “territory” (i.e., physical and/or psychological environment). Therefore, compared to E-Standard (i.e., E-Classic), E-Prime eliminates all the forms of the verb “to be”. R-Prime incorporates the same philosophy, but it refers to Romanian (R), rather than English (E). In this study we investigated the role of R-Prime versus R-Standard (i.e., RClassic) in inducing anger, in the context of the binary model of distress: functional negative (i.e., annoyance) versus dysfunctional negative (anger) feelings. R-Prime condition displayed a higher level of annoyance at posttest as compared to the R-Standard condition. The level of anger increased (from baseline to post-test) similarly in both R-Prime and R-Standard conditions. Thus, R-Prime induced (from baseline to post-test) both functional (annoyance) and dysfunctional negative feelings (anger), while R-Standard induced (from baseline to post-test) only dysfunctional negative feelings (anger). In the end, we discuss implications for theory, practice, and future developments.
Keywords: rational and irrational beliefs, rational emotive behavior therapy, E-Prime/R-Prime, anger and annoyance, emotion regulation
