Erik Van Alstine

Erik Van Alstine

Author. Leadership strategist. Expert in Perceptual IntelligenceTM.

Five Eyes

Yep, I’m still yapping about the see-feel-act pattern. Here’s a story1 from cognitive therapist Aaron Beck that illustrates this pattern in action.

A teacher told the class that Tony, a bright student, got a bad grade on his test. Five other students in the class saw the situation five different ways, creating five different sets of feelings and actions.

 
AI_FreeIntroChapter_Blog
 

The first saw himself as smarter, felt pleased, and acted by showing off his higher test scores.

The second student saw Tony as his best friend. He felt sad because Tony was sad, and acted by buying Tony lunch.

The third student saw himself as dumber than Tony, felt frightened, and acted by going up front to find his test.

The fourth student saw the teacher as unfair, felt anger and resentment, and acted by reporting Tony’s unfair grade to the principal.

The fifth student was a visitor to the class and saw Tony as a stranger. She felt indifferent, and didn’t act at all.

One situation. Five different ways of seeing it. And five different sets of emotions and actions.

1Aaron T. Beck, M.D., Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders (New York: Meridian, 1976), p. 51.

Share this post