What is the ABC Model?

Albert Ellis developed the ABC model as part of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). The model explores the relationship between an event, the beliefs we hold about it and the emotional or behavioural consequences that follow.

It is a model I use with clients to help explore how their interpretation of a situation may be influencing how they feel and respond.

What is the ABC model?

The ABC model aims to explain why two people can experience the same event but react completely differently towards it.

The model can be broken down into three parts:

• A – Activating event: What happened.
• B – Beliefs: What you think or believe about what happened.
• C – Consequences: How you feel and respond as a result.

For example, two students could fail a test and receive the same score (activating event 'A'). However, they respond in totally different ways.

This can be influenced by the students' belief systems and thinking styles (beliefs 'B'), which can then affect the emotional and behavioural consequences ('C'). As an empowerment coach as well as a teacher of psychology, I have seen this happen many times in my career.

Here is an example of the model in action:

The experience of failing a test can lead one student to the belief that “I am stupid and will never pass”, which might leave them feeling discouraged and make them less likely to revise or try again, potentially reinforcing their original belief.

However, the other student may have the more helpful or realistic belief that “I did not revise enough” or “I still don’t understand how to answer those types of exam questions”.

The student might decide to revise differently, ask for help or practise the types of questions they found difficult. This doesn't guarantee that they'll pass next time, but it gives them practical actions they can take.

Ellis's model emphasises that our beliefs about an event can influence the emotional and behavioural consequences we experience. This doesn't mean that difficult events don't matter or that distress is simply the result of ‘thinking wrongly’.

This is not to say that we should all be skipping around town every day ignoring negative things, as, let’s be honest, sometimes things can be bad! If a storm hits and your house gets flooded or you lose an expensive piece of jewellery, this is not a nice experience and can lead you to feel upset or frustrated.

Having these feelings can be a natural response to a difficult situation. Ellis described beliefs as rational or irrational. In everyday language, it can be useful to consider whether a belief is supported by the evidence, helpful in responding to the situation and flexible enough to allow for other possibilities.

Feeling annoyed or upset can sometimes motivate us into action to make a situation better. For example, the student who failed their test but had a more helpful belief about what happened could use the experience constructively, taking advice and guidance from their mistakes and considering what they could do differently in the future.

Challenging unhelpful beliefs

The aim isn't to force yourself to find a positive interpretation of every difficult experience. Instead, you can ask whether the story you're telling yourself about what happened is accurate, helpful and proportionate to the situation.

For example, if your home floods, feeling upset, angry or overwhelmed is understandable. The useful question isn't ‘How do I make this positive?’ but whether additional thoughts such as ‘Everything is ruined, and I'll never cope with this’ are helping you respond to what has happened.

If you find it difficult to change your perception of situations, empowerment coaching can provide space to explore how you interpret experiences and whether there are alternative perspectives you want to consider.

I discuss perception in my article, The Wedding Dress Phenomenon.

Try the ABC model yourself

The next time something leaves you feeling stuck, try writing down:

A – What happened?
B – What am I telling myself about what happened?
C – How is that belief affecting how I feel or what I do next?

Then ask yourself:

Is there another way of looking at this that is still realistic, but perhaps more helpful?