Abstract
Belloch, Roncero, and Perpiñá compare how ego-syntonic (congruent with the self) and ego-dystonic (alien, unwanted) three kinds of upsetting intrusive cognitions feel: obsessive, dysmorphic, and eating-related. The fit depends on the content. It is not one quality of the person.
Belloch, A., Roncero, M., & Perpiñá, C. (2012). Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 34(1), 94–106. DOI
Key findings
- Content changes fit. Obsessive, dysmorphic, and eating-related intrusions were not experienced as equally alien to the self.
- Eating thoughts fit. Eating-related intrusive cognitions were the more ego-syntonic of the three contents.
- Obsessive thoughts clash. Obsessive intrusive cognitions were the more ego-dystonic.
- Two related qualities. Syntonicity and dystonicity were rated as related properties of the intrusion, not as a diagnosis of the person.
Limits
A study of upsetting intrusive cognitions, reported in the 2012 print issue (online 2011). It does not measure a coaching identity, a chosen miss, or whether every setback is secretly wanted. Transfer stops at the split: the same class of unwanted thought can fit the self-image or clash with it, depending on content.
Application
- Ego-syntonic failure — a miss that can match the self-image while the adult word is still failure.