Understanding Emotions
This DBT model explains how prompting events, thoughts, emotions, vulnerability factors, body sensations, and actions influence one another.
What is the Model of Emotion?
This skill encourages people to build small successes each day to strengthen confidence.
A. Accumulate Positive Emotions
B. Opposite Action
C. Build Mastery
D. Check the Facts
C. Build Mastery
This DBT skill helps you change an emotion by doing the opposite of the emotion’s action urge.
What is Opposite Action?
This DBT skill is used when an emotion fits the facts and you need to take steps to address the situation directly.
What is Problem Solving?
A student waves at a friend in the hallway, but the friend doesn’t wave back (prompting event). They think, “They must be mad at me”. Which part of the Model of Emotions may potentially amplify their emotional experience?
What is Interpretations
This term refers to the event or situation that starts the chain of thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and behaviors. Hint: the thing that happens first — the event that starts your emotional reaction.
What is the prompting event?
Which of the following correctly lists what the DBT PLEASE skills stand for?
A. Plan Ahead, Listen, Eat Well, Avoid Stress, Sleep, Exercise
B. Physical Health, Eating, Avoid Drugs, Sleep, Exercise
C. Physical Illness, balanced Eating, Avoid mood-altering substances, balanced Sleep, Exercise
D. Pause, Label Emotions, Evaluate Options, Stay Mindful, Engage
C. Physical Illness, balanced Eating, Avoid mood-altering substances, balanced Sleep, Exercise
This step must be done before choosing Opposite Action, because it determines whether the emotion matches the situation.
What is Check the Facts?
A person feels embarrassed after giving a class presentation. They ask themselves, “Did anything happen that realistically means others are judging me?” They are using which skill?
What is Check the Facts?
A person feels embarrassed and suddenly wants to leave the room and hide. In the Model of Emotions, what is this urge called?
What is an Action Urge?
This emotion occurs after thoughts, interpretations, or assumptions intensify the original feeling.
A. After Effects
B. Secondary thoughts
C. Secondary emotion
D. Action Urge
What is a secondary emotion?
This ABC PLEASE skill reduces emotional vulnerability by intentionally adding meaningful or pleasant experiences to daily life.
What is Accumulate Positive Emotions?
True or False: We use Opposite Action when an emotion is justified when it fits the facts AND acting on the emotion is effective.
What is True?
In DBT Problem Solving, which step involves reviewing the outcome of the solution you used to determine whether it worked or if another strategy is needed?
A. Generate possible solutions
B. Identify the emotion
C. Evaluate the outcome
D. Choose the most effective solution
C. Evaluate the outcome
A person wants to improve their emotion regulation by reducing vulnerability. They start working out three times a week. This falls under which ABC PLEASE component?
What is “Exercise”?
Which of the following is an example of an emotional vulnerability factor?
A. Thinking “They did that on purpose.”
B. Not sleeping well the night before
C. Walking away from an argument
D. Feeling angry at a friend
Correct Answer: B. Not sleeping well the night before
A person finds they get overwhelmed quickly in arguments and later notices they often go long periods without eating, leading to drops in blood sugar. Addressing which PLEASE component would most directly reduce emotional vulnerability for this person?
What is balanced Eating?
An employee feels intense anxiety before a presentation and has an urge to call in sick. Which option shows BOTH the action urge and the opposite action?
A. Action urge: Take deep breaths
Opposite action: Cancel the presentation
B. Action urge: Avoid the presentation
Opposite action: Show up and participate fully
C. Action urge: Ask a friend to help prepare
Opposite action: Practice more alone
D. Action urge: Cry
Opposite action: Express anger
B. Action urge: Avoid the presentation / Opposite action: Show up and participate fully
Which step comes FIRST in DBT Problem Solving?
A. Evaluate the outcome
B. Generate solutions
C. Describe the problem clearly
D. Choose the best solution
C. Describe the problem clearly
A person wants to feel more joy long-term and schedules weekly activities tied to their personal values. Which ABC skill is being practiced?
What is Accumulate Positive Emotions (Long-Term)?
This part of the emotion model explains how two people can have completely different emotional reactions to the same event because of the meaning they assign to it. It involves assumptions, beliefs, and personal history shaping how the situation is understood.
What is interpretation (or What are interpretations of the prompting event?)
A person tends to get overwhelmed during family events. Before the next gathering, they create a step-by-step plan, rehearse self-soothing strategies, imagine using DEAR MAN, and identify what they’ll do if emotions rise. This skill is central to reducing vulnerability to intense emotion.
What is Coping Ahead?
A person wants to avoid a social event due to anxiety but attendance while staying silent in the corner the entire event. DBT would say they did not do this specific part of Opposite Action.
What is doing Opposite Action all the way (full engagement)?
This DBT process involves listing multiple ways to handle a situation without judging them, even if some ideas seem unrealistic at first.
What is generating solutions (Problem Solving)?
A client is sitting at home when their phone buzzes with a notification. They glance down and see a message from their supervisor that simply says, “Can we talk later?” The moment they read it, the client feels their stomach tighten and their mind jumps to the thought, “I must be in trouble.” Their anxiety quickly rises. Which part of the Model of Emotion are they describing their physical changes to their therapist?
What are body sensations?