Common Cognitive Distortions

Main types

The cognitive distortions listed below[1] are categories of automatic thinking, and are to be distinguished from logical fallacies.[5]

36. Failure to consider opportunity cost.

For example, spending an hour doing a low ROI task and thinking "it's only an hour" and not considering the lost potential of spending that hour doing a high ROI task.

15. Recognizing feelings as causes of behavior, but not equally attending to how behavior influences thoughts and feelings.

For example, you think "When I have more energy, I'll exercise" but not "Exercising will give me more energy."

27. Overgeneralizing

Generalizing a belief that may have validity in some situations (such as "If you want something done well, you should do it yourself.") to every situation. This is a type of lack of psychological flexibility.

39. "You don't know what you don't know."

Getting external feedback can help you become aware of things you didn't even know that you didn't know!

Magnification and minimization

Giving proportionally greater weight to a perceived failure, weakness or threat, or lesser weight to a perceived success, strength or opportunity, so the weight differs from that assigned to the event or thing by others. This is common enough in the normal population to popularize idioms such as "make a mountain out of a molehill". In depressed clients, often the positive characteristics of other people are exaggerated and negative characteristics are understated. There is one subtype of magnification: Catastrophizing - Giving greater weight to the worst possible outcome, however unlikely, or experiencing a situation as unbearable or impossible when it is just uncomfortable. Example: A teenager is too afraid to start driver's training because he believes he would get himself into an accident.

2. Mindreading.

Guessing what someone else is thinking, when they may not be thinking that.

20. Delusions.

Holding a fixed, false belief despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. For example, believing global warming doesn't exist. Or, believing you're overweight when you're 85lbs.

41. The belief that worry and overthinking will lead to problem solving insights.

In fact, overthinking tends to impair problem solving ability and leads to avoidance coping.

50. "I can't change my behavior." (or "I can't change my thinking style.")

Instead of telling yourself "I can't," try asking yourself how you could shift your behavior (or thinking style) by 5%.

14. Belief that self-criticism is an effective way to motivate yourself toward better future behavior.

It's not.

37. Assumed similarity.

The tendency to assume other people hold similar attitudes to your own.

38. In-group bias.

The tendency to trust and value people who are like you, or who are in your circle, more than people from different backgrounds.

5. Catastrophizing.

Thinking of unpleasant events as catastrophes.

Cognitive distortions

are exaggerated or irrational thought patterns that are believed to perpetuate the effects of psychopathological states, especially depression and anxiety

8. Thinking an absence of effusiveness means something is wrong.

believing an absence of a smiley-face in an email means someone is mad at you. Or, interpreting "You did a good job" as negative if you were expecting "You did a great job."

Labeling and mislabeling

A more severe type of overgeneralization; attributing a person's actions to their character instead of some accidental attribute. Rather than assuming the behavior to be accidental or extrinsic, the person assigns a label to someone or something that implies the character of that person or thing. Mislabeling involves describing an event with language that has a strong connotation of a person's evaluation of the event. Example of "labeling": Instead of believing that you made a mistake, you believe that you are a loser, because only a loser would make that kind of mistake. Or, someone who made a bad first impression is a "jerk", in the absence of some more specific cause. Example of "mislabeling": A woman who places her children in a day care center is "abandoning her children to strangers," because the person who says so highly values the bond between mother and child.

22. Cognitive labeling.

For example, mentally labeling your sister's boyfriend as a "loser" and not being open to subsequent evidence suggesting he isn't a loser.

Personalization

Attributing personal responsibility, including the resulting praise or blame, for events over which a person has no control. Example: A mother whose child is struggling in school blames herself entirely for being a bad mother, because she believes that her deficient parenting is responsible. In fact, the real cause may be something else entirely.

Fallacy of fairness

Becoming guilty when one acts against justice or upset when someone else acts unjustly.[2]

Always being right

Being wrong is unthinkable. This cognitive distortion is characterized by actively trying to prove one's actions or thoughts to be correct, while sometimes prioritizing self-interest over the feelings of another person.

10. Entitlement beliefs.

Believing the same rules that apply to others should not apply to you. For example, believing you shouldn't need to do an internship even if that is the normal path to employment in your industry.

33. Failure to consider alternative explanations.

Coming up with one explanation for why something has happened/happens and failing to consider alternative, more likely explanations.

Disqualifying the positive

Discounting positive events. Example: Upon receiving a congratulation, a person dismisses it out-of-hand, believing it to be undeserved, and automatically interpreting the compliment (at least inwardly) as an attempt at flattery or perhaps as arising out of naïveté.

Should statements

Doing, or expecting others to do, what they morally should or ought to do irrespective of the particular case the person is faced with. This involves conforming strenuously to ethical categorical imperatives which, by definition, "always apply," or to hypothetical imperatives which apply in that general type of case. Albert Ellis termed this "musturbation". Psychotherapist Michael C. Graham describes this as "expecting the world to be different than it is".[7] Example: After a performance, a concert pianist believes he or she should not have made so many mistakes. Or, while waiting for an appointment, thinking that the service provider should be on time, and feeling bitter and resentful as a result.[6] David Burns' Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy does not distinguish between pathological "should statements," moral imperatives, and social norms.

48. Cheating on your goals based on positive behaviors you plan to do later.

For example, overeating today if you expect you'll be starting a diet next week. Often the planned positive behaviors don't happen.

23. The Halo Effect.

For example, perceiving high calories foods as lower in calories if they're accompanied by a salad.

46. Failure to recognize the cognitive benefits of restorative activitIes and activities that increase positive emotions.

For example, seeing humor or breaks as a waste of time.

44. The tendency to prefer familiar things.

Familiarity breeds liking, which is part of why people are brand loyal and may pay inflated prices for familiar brands vs. switching.

Filtering

Focusing entirely on negative elements of a situation, to the exclusion of the positive. Also, the brain's tendency to filter out information which does not conform to already held beliefs. Example: After receiving comments about a work presentation, a person focuses on the single critical comment and ignores what went well.

21. Assuming your current feelings will stay the same in the future.

For example, "I feel unable to cope today, and therefore I will feel unable to cope tomorrow."

17. Shoulds and musts.

For example, "I should always give 100%." Sometimes there are no important benefits of doing a task beyond a basic acceptable level.

11. Justification and moral licensing.

For example, I've made progress toward my goal and therefore it's ok if I act in a way that is inconsistent with it.

12. Belief in a just world.

For example, believing that poor people must deserve to be poor.

25. Magnifying (Cognitively Exaggerating).

For example, blowing your own mistakes and flaws out of proportion and perceiving them as more significant than they are. Making a mountain out of a molehill, but not quite to the same extent as catastrophizing.

6. Biased attention toward signs of social rejection, and lack of attention to signs of social acceptance.

For example, during social interactions, paying attention to someone yawning but not paying the same degree of attention to other cues that suggest they are interested in what you're saying (such as them leaning in)

49. Repeating the same behavior and expecting different results (or thinking that doubling-down on a failed strategy will start to produce positive results).

For example, expecting that if you nag more, your partner will change.

47. Positively biased predictions.

For example, expecting that if you sign up to a one year gym membership you will go, if this hasn't been the case in the past.

13. Seeing a situation only from your own perspective.

For example, failing to look at a topic of relationship tension from your partner's perspective.

Overgeneralization[edit]

Making hasty generalizations from insufficient experiences and evidence. Making a very broad conclusion based on a single incident or a single piece of evidence. If something bad happens only once, it is expected to happen over and over again.[2] Example: A person is lonely and often spends most of her time at home. Her friends sometimes ask her to come out for dinner and meet new people. She feels it is useless to try to meet people. No one really could like her.[

3. Negative predictions.

Overestimating the likelihood that an action will have a negative outcome.

Emotional reasoning

Presuming that negative feelings expose the true nature of things, and experiencing reality as a reflection of emotionally linked thoughts. Thinking something is true, solely based on a feeling. Example: "I feel (i.e. think that I am) stupid or boring, therefore I must be."[2] Or, feeling that fear of flying in planes means planes are a very dangerous way to travel. Or, concluding that it's hopeless to clean one's house due to being overwhelmed by the prospect of cleaning

42. Biased implicit attitudes.

Psychologists use a test called the implicit association test to measure attitudes that people subconsciously hold. Results show people subconsciously associate fat with lazy etc. It's useful to be mindful that you may subsciously hold biased attitudes, then you can consciously correct for them.

umping to conclusions

Reaching preliminary conclusions (usually negative) from little (if any) evidence. Two specific subtypes are identified: Mind reading: Inferring a person's possible or probable (usually negative) thoughts from their behavior and nonverbal communication; taking precautions against the worst reasonably suspected case or some other preliminary conclusion, without asking the person. Example: A student assumes the readers of their paper have already made up their mind concerning its topic, and therefore writing the paper is a pointless exercise.[5] Fortune-telling: predicting outcomes (usually negative) of events. Example: Being convinced of failure before a test, when the student is in fact prepared.

Fallacy of change[edit]

Relying on social control to obtain cooperative actions from another person.[2]

7. Negatively biased recall of social encounters.

Remembering negatives from a social situation and not remembering positives. For example, remembering losing your place for a few seconds while giving a talk but not remembering the huge clap you got at the end.

Splitting (All-or-nothing thinking or dichotomous reasoning)

Seeing things in black or white as opposed to shades of gray; thinking in terms of false dilemmas. Splitting involves using terms like "always", "every" or "never" when this is neither true, nor equivalent to the truth. Example: When an admired person makes a minor mistake, the admiration is turned into contempt.

26. Cognitive conformity.

Seeing things the way people around you view them. Research has shown that this often happens at an unconscious level. See the Asch experiment. (video)

1. Personalizing.

Taking something personally that may not be personal. Seeing events as consequences of your actions when there are other possibilities. For example, believing someone's brusque tone must be because they're irritated with you.

9. Unrelenting standards.

The belief that achieving unrelentingly high standards is necessary to avoid a catastrophe. For example, the belief that making any mistakes will lead to your colleagues thinking you're useless.

Blaming

The opposite of personalization; holding other people responsible for the harm they cause, and especially for their intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress on us.[2] Example: someone blames their spouse entirely for marital problems, instead of looking at his/her own part in the problems.

43. The Peak-End Rule.

The tendency to most strongly remember (1) how you felt at the end of an experience, and (2) how you felt at the moment of peak emotional intensity during the experience. Biased memories can lead to biased future decision making.

4. Underestimating coping ability.

Underestimating your ability cope with negative events.

29. Falling victim to the "Foot in the Door" technique.

When someone makes a small request to get a "Yes" answer, then follows up with a bigger request, people are more likely to agree to the big request than if only that request had been made.

30. Falling victim to the "Door in the Face" technique.

When someone makes an outlandish request first, then makes a smaller request, the initial outlandish request makes the smaller request seem more reasonable.

45. The belief you can multi-task.

When you're multi-tasking you're actually task (and attention) shifting. Trying to focus on more than one goal at a time is self-sabotage.

31. Focusing on the amount saved rather than the amount spent.

e.g, Focusing on the amount of a discount rather than on whether you'd buy the item that day at the sale price if it wasn't listed as on sale.

18. Using feelings as the basis of a judgment, when the objective evidence does not support your feelings.

e.g., "I don't feel clean, even though I've washed my hands three times. Therefore I should wash my again." (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder example).

16. All or nothing thinking.

e.g., "If I don't always get As, I'm a complete failure."

24. Minimizing.

e.g., "Yes I won an important award but that still doesn't really mean I'm accomplished in my field."

19. Basing future decisions on "sunk costs."

e.g., investing more money in a business that is losing money because you've invested so much already.

32. Overvaluing things because they're yours.

e.g., perceiving your baby as more attractive or smart than they really are because they're yours. Or, overestimating the value of your home when you put it on the market for sale because you overestimate the added value of renovations you've made.

34. The Self-Serving Bias

he self-serving bias is people's tendency to attribute positive events to their own character but attribute negative events to external factors. (Tips for overcoming the self-serving bias.)

Cognitive distortions are

thoughts that cognitive therapists believe cause individuals to perceive reality inaccurately. These thinking patterns often are said to reinforce negative thoughts or emotions.[2] Cognitive distortions tend to interfere with the way a person perceives an event. Because the way a person feels intervenes with how they think, these distorted thoughts can feed negative emotions and lead an individual affected by cognitive distortions towards an overall negative outlook on the world and consequently a depressive or anxious mental state.