Evaluate the collective function of references cited together in a given text segment.
Classify their combined role into one of the following categories: 'method', 'background', or 'result'.

Text:…to be consistent with the assumptions of several authors who suggest that ambivalence may be a normal aspect of the change process (Mahoney, 2003; Messer, 2002; Neimeyer, 1995), which is probably associated with clients’ self-protection regarding the anxiety of changing familiar ways of…
Category: