 When such cognitions are beliefs, their modification tends to be coherently reflected in changes of the emotions. For example, if I am angry at Tom based on my belief that he has bad mouthed me with a colleague, my anger is unlikely to survive the realization that he has not, in fact, bad mouthed me with a colleague. On occasion, however, my anger toward Tom will persist despite my belief that no slight whatsoever has taken place, thereby revealing irrationality as incoherence.