EFFECTS OF COMPUTER-BASED COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING ON RATIONALLY MEDIATED SELF-ESTEEM

Fifty-six 11th- and 12th-grade students with below-average self-esteem were classified by gender and randomly assigned to either computer-ba sed cognitive restructuring or a relaxation-training control condition . The computer intervention (laden with multimedia features such as co lor video clips, stereo music, digitized speech, and engaging graphics ) targeted irrational beliefs linked in previous research to low self- esteem. Participants were assessed repeatedly as they progressed throu gh the program; depending on the tenacity of each belief held, the pro gram provided a variety of cognitive restructuring responses. Multivar iate and univariate effects on four measures of rationality and self-e steem favored computer-based cognitive restructuring.