6/25/2018 Cognitive Distortions: When Your Brain Lies to You (+ PDF Worksheets)

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This article contains:

What are Cognitive Distortions? A Definition Recent Posts

Experts in Cognitive Distortions: Aaron Beck
and David Burns What is
Self-
A List of the Most Common Cognitive
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Distortions Theory?
Changing Your Thinking: Examples of Definition
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Techniques to Combat Cognitive Distortions
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Cognitive distortions come in many forms (which we’ll
cover later in this piece), but they all have some things in
common.
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All cognitive distortions are:

Tendencies or patterns of thinking or believing…

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That are false or inaccurate…

And have the potential to cause psychological
damage.

It can be scary to admit that you may fall prey to distorted

thinking. You might be thinking, “There’s no way I am
holding on to any blatantly false beliefs!” While most
people don’t suffer in their daily lives from these kinds of
cognitive distortions, it seems that no one can completely
escape these distortions.

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If you’re human, you have likely fallen for a few of the
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numerous cognitive distortions at one time or another.
The difference between those who occasionally stumble
into a cognitive distortion and those who struggle with
them on a more long-term basis is the ability to identify
and modify or correct these faulty patterns of thinking.
As with many skills and abilities in life, some are far better
at this than others.

These distortions have been shown to relate positively to

symptoms of depression, meaning that where cognitive
distortions abound, symptoms of depression are likely to
occur as well (Burns, Shaw, & Croker, 1987).

In the words of renowned psychiatrist and researcher

David Burns:

“I suspect you will find that a great many

of your negative feelings are in fact based
on such thinking errors.”

Errors in thinking, or cognitive distortions, are particularly

effective at provoking or exacerbating symptoms of
depression. It is still a bit ambiguous as to whether these
distortions cause depression or depression brings out
these distortions (after all, correlation does not equal
causation!) but it is clear that they frequently go hand-in-
hand.

Much of what we know about cognitive distortions comes

from the vast body of research conducted by two
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researchers at the forefront of the field of psychiatry and

psychotherapy: Aaron Beck and David Burns.

Experts in Cognitive Distortions: Aaron Beck

and David Burns
If you dig any deeper into cognitive distortions and their
role in depression, anxiety, and other mental health
issues, you will run into two names over and over again:
Aaron Beck and David Burns.

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These two psychologists literally wrote the book(s) on
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depression, cognitive distortions, and the treatment of
these problems.

Aaron Beck

Aaron Beck
began his career
at Yale Medical
School, where he
graduated in
1946 (Aaron T.
Beck
Psychopathology
ResearchCenter,
n.d.). His
required rotations
in psychiatry
during his
residency ignited
his passion for research on depression, suicide, and
effective treatment. In 1954, he joined the University of
Pennsylvania’s Department of Psychiatry, where he still
holds the position of Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry.

In addition to his prodigious catalogue of publications,

Beck founded the Beck Initiative to teach therapists how
to conduct cognitive therapy with their patients, an
endeavor that has helped cognitive therapy grow into the
therapy juggernaut that it is today.

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Beck also applied his knowledge as a member or

consultant for the National Institute of Mental Health, an
editor for several peer-reviewed journals, and lectures
and visiting professorships at various academic
institutions throughout the world (Aaron T. Beck
Psychopathology Research Center, n.d.).

While there are clearly many honors, awards, and

achievements Beck may be known for, perhaps his
greatest contribution to the field of psychology is his role
in the development of cognitive therapy.

Beck developed the basis for Cognitive Behavioral Download These 3 Positive
Therapy, or CBT, when he noticed that many of his Psychology Exercises For Free!
patients struggling with depression were operating on
false assumptions and distorted thinking (Good Therapy,
2015). He connected these distorted thinking patterns
with his patients’ symptoms, and hypothesized that
changing their thinking could change their symptoms.

This is the foundation of CBT – the idea that our thought

patterns and deeply held beliefs about ourselves and the
world around us drive our experiences can lead to mental
health disorders when they are distorted, and can be
modified or changed to eliminate troublesome symptoms.

In line with his general research focus, Beck also

developed two important scales that are among some of
the most used scales in psychology: the Beck Depression
Inventory and the Beck Hopelessness Scale. These
scales are used to evaluate symptoms of depression and
risk of suicide and are still applied decades after their
original development (Good Therapy, 2015).

David Burns

Another big name in depression and treatment research,

Dr. David Burns also spent some time learning and
developing his skills at the University of Pennsylvania – it
seems that UPenn is particularly good at producing future
leaders in psychology!

Burns graduated from Stanford University School of

Medicine and moved on to the University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine, where he completed his psychiatry
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residency and cemented his interest in the treatment of

mental health disorders (Feeling Good, n.d.).

He is currently serving as a Professor Emeritus of

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford
University School of Medicine, in addition to continuing
his research on treating depression and training
therapists to conduct effective psychotherapy sessions
(Feeling Good, n.d.). Much of his work is based on Beck’s
research revealing the potential impacts of distorted
thinking and suggesting ways to correct this thinking.

He is perhaps most well known outside of strictly Download These 3 Positive

academic circles for his worldwide best-selling book Psychology Exercises For Free!
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. This book has
sold more than 4 million copies within the United States
alone, and is often recommended by therapists to their
patients struggling with depression (Summit for Clinical
Excellence, n.d.).

This book outlines Burns’ approach for treating

depression, which mostly focuses on identifying,
correcting, and replacing distorted systems and patterns
of thinking. If you are interested in learning more about
this book, you can find it on Amazon at this link with over
1,400 reviews to help you evaluate its effectiveness.

To hear more about Burns’ work in the treatment of

depression, check out his TED talk on the subject below.

A List of the Most Common Cognitive

Distortions

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Beck and Burns are not the only two researchers who
have dedicated their careers to learning more about
depression, cognitive distortions, and treatment for these
conditions. There are many others who have picked up
the torch for this research as well, often with their own
take on cognitive distortions. As such, there are
numerous cognitive distortions floating around in the
literature, but we’ll limit this list to the most common
sixteen.

The first eleven distortions come straight from Burns’

Feeling Good Handbook (1989).
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1. All-or-Nothing Thinking / Polarized Thinking Psychology Exercises For Free!

Also known as “Black-and-White Thinking,” this distortion

manifests as an inability or unwillingness to see shades of
gray. In other words, you see things in terms of extremes
– something is either fantastic or awful, you are either
perfect or a total failure.

2. Overgeneralization

This sneaky distortion takes one instance or example and

generalizes it to an overall pattern. For example, a
student may receive a C on one test and conclude that
she is stupid and a failure. Overgeneralizing can lead to
overly negative thoughts about oneself and one’s
environment based on only one or two experiences.

3. Mental Filter

Similar to overgeneralization, the mental filter distortion

focuses on a single negative and excludes all the positive.
An example of this distortion is one partner in a romantic
relationship dwelling on a single negative comment
made by the other partner and viewing the relationship as
hopelessly lost, while ignoring the years of positive
comments and experiences. The mental filter can foster a
negative view of everything around you by focusing only
on the negative.

4. Disqualifying the Positive

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On the flipside, the “Disqualifying the Positive” distortion

acknowledges positive experiences, but rejects them
instead of embracing them. For example, a person who
receives a positive review at work might reject the idea
that he is a competent employee and attribute the positive
review to political correctness or to his boss simply not
wanting to talk about his employee’s performance
problems. This is an especially malignant distortion, since
it can facilitate the continuance of negative thought
patterns even in the face of lots of evidence to the
contrary.

5. Jumping to Conclusions – Mind Reading Download These 3 Positive

Psychology Exercises For Free!
This “Jumping to Conclusions” distortion manifests as the
inaccurate belief that we know what another person is
thinking. Of course, it is possible to have an idea of what
other people are thinking, but this distortion refers to the
negative interpretations that we jump to. Seeing a
stranger with an unpleasant expression and jumping to
the conclusion that she is thinking something negative
about you is an instance of this distortion.

6. Jumping to Conclusions – Fortune Telling

A sister distortion to mind reading, fortune telling refers to

the tendency to make conclusions and predictions based
on little to no evidence, and holding them as gospel truth.
One example of fortune telling is a young, single woman
predicting that she will never find love or have a
committed and happy relationship based only on the fact
that she has not found it yet. There is simply no way for
her to know how her life will turn out, but she sees this

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prediction as fact rather than one of several possible

outcomes.

7. Magnification (Catastrophizing) or Minimization

Also known as the “Binocular Trick” for its stealthy

skewing of your perspective, this distortion involves
exaggerating the importance or meaning of things or
minimizing the importance or meaning of things. An
athlete who is generally a good player but makes a
mistake may magnify the importance of that mistake and
believe that he is a terrible teammate, while an athlete
who wins a coveted award in her sport may minimize the Download These 3 Positive
importance of the award and continue believing that she Psychology Exercises For Free!
is only a mediocre player.

8. Emotional Reasoning

This may be one of the most surprising distortions to

many readers, and it is also one of the most important to
identify and address. The logic behind this distortion is not
surprising to most people; rather, it is the realization that
virtually all of us have bought in to this distortion at one
time or another. Emotional reasoning refers to the
acceptance of one’s emotions as fact. It can be described
as “I feel it, therefore it must be true.” Of course, we know
this isn’t a reasonable belief, but it is a common one
nonetheless.

9. Should Statements

Another particularly damaging distortion is the tendency

to make “should” statements. Should statements are
statements that you make to yourself about what you
“should” do, what you “ought” to do, or what you “must”
do. They can also be applied to others, imposing a set of
expectations that will likely not be met. When we hang on
too tightly to our “should” statements about ourselves, the
result is often guilt that we cannot live up to them. When
he cling to our “should” statements about others, we are
generally disappointed by the failure of the others to meet
our expectations, leading to anger and resentment.

10. Labeling and Mislabeling

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These tendencies are basically extreme forms of

overgeneralization, in which we assign judgments of
value to ourselves or to others based on one instance or
experience. For example, a student who labels herself as
“an utter fool” for failing an assignment is engaging in this
distortion, as is the waiter who labels a customer “a
grumpy old miser” if he fails to thank the waiter for
bringing his food. Mislabeling refers to the application of
highly emotional, loaded language when labeling.

11. Personalization

As the name implies, this distortion involves taking Download These 3 Positive
everything personally or assigning blame to yourself with Psychology Exercises For Free!
no logical reason to believe you are to blame. This
distortion covers a wide range of situations, from
assuming you are the reason a friend did not enjoy the
girl’s night out because of you, to the more severe
examples of believing that you are the cause for every
instance of moodiness or irritation in those around you.

In addition to these basic cognitive distortions, Beck and

Burns have mentioned a few others (Beck, 1976; Burns,
1980):

12. Control Fallacies

A control fallacy manifests as one of two beliefs: (1) that

we have no control over our lives and are helpless victims
of fate, or (2) that we are in complete control of ourselves
and our surroundings, giving us responsibility for the
feelings of those around us. Both beliefs are damaging,
and both are equally inaccurate. No one is in complete
control of what happens to them, and no one has
absolutely no control over their situation. Even in extreme
situations where an individual seemingly has no choices
in what they do, where they go, or what they say, they still
have a certain amount of control over how they approach
their situation mentally.

13. Fallacy of Fairness

While we would all probably prefer to operate in a world

that is fair, this assumption is not based in reality and can

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foster negative feelings when we are faced with proof of

life’s unfairness. A person who judges every experience
by its perceived fairness has fallen for this fallacy, and will
likely feel anger, resentment, and hopelessness when he
inevitably encounters a situation that is not fair.

14. Fallacy of Change

Another fallacy distortion involves expecting others to

change if we pressure or encourage them enough. This
distortion is usually accompanied by a belief that our
happiness and success rests on other people, leading
us to believe that forcing those around us to change is the Download These 3 Positive
only way to get what we want. A man who thinks “If I just Psychology Exercises For Free!
encourage my wife to stop doing the things that irritate
me, I can be a better husband and a happier person” is
exhibiting the fallacy of change.

15. Always Being Right

Perfectionists and those struggling with Imposter

Syndrome will recognize this distortion – it is the belief
that we must always be right, correct, or accurate. With
this distortion, the idea that we could be wrong is
absolutely unacceptable, and we will fight to the
metaphorical death to prove that we are right. For
example, the internet commenters who spends hours
arguing with each other over an opinion or political issue
far beyond the point where reasonable individuals would
conclude that they should “agree to disagree” are
engaging in the “Always Being Right” distortion. To them,
it is not simply a matter of a difference of opinion, it is an
intellectual battle that must be won at all costs.

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16. Heaven’s Reward Fallacy

This distortion is a popular one, particularly with the

myriad examples of this fallacy playing out on big and
small screens across the world. The “Heaven’s Reward
Fallacy” manifests as a belief that one’s struggles, one’s
suffering, and one’s hard work will result in a just reward.
It is obvious why this type of thinking is a distortion – how
many examples can you think of, just within the realm of
your personal acquaintances, where hard work and
sacrifice did not pay off? Sometimes no matter how hard
we work or how much we sacrifice, we will not achieve
what we hope to achieve. To think otherwise is a Download These 3 Positive
potentially damaging pattern of thought that can result in Psychology Exercises For Free!
disappointment, frustration, anger, and even depression
when the awaited reward does not materialize.

Changing Your Thinking: Examples of

Techniques to Combat Cognitive Distortions
These distortions, while common and potentially
extremely damaging, are not something we must simply
resign ourselves to living with. Beck, Burns, and other
researchers in this area have developed numerous ways
to identify, challenge, minimize, or erase these distortions
from our thinking.

Some of the most effective and evidence-backed

techniques and resources are listed below.

Unhelpful Thinking Styles

Since you must first identify the distortions you struggle

with before you can effectively challenge them, this
resource is a must-have.

The Unhelpful Thinking Styles handout lists and describes

several types of cognitive distortions to help you figure out
which ones you might be dealing with.

The distortions listed include:

All or Nothing Thinking

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Overgeneralizing
Mental Filter
Disqualifying the Positive
Jumping to Conclusions: Mind Reading/Fortune Telling
Magnification (Catastrophizing) and Minimization
Emotional Reasoning
Should/Must Statements
Labelling
Personalization

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The descriptions are accompanied by engaging
depictions of the distortions in action.

This handout will be available for download soon.

CBT Thought Record

This worksheet is an excellent tool for identifying cognitive

distortions. Our automatic, negative thoughts are often
related to a distortion that we may or may not realize we
have. Completing this exercise can help you to figure out
where you are making inaccurate assumptions or jumping
to false conclusions.

The worksheet opens with space to describe the situation

in which the negative automatic thought arose. The
instructions are to identify where you were and what you
were doing, as well as any other pertinent contextual
information.

Next, you are instructed to rate the strength of the

emotion or feeling the situation evoked on a scale from
0% (weakest) to 100% (strongest).

The third component of the worksheet directs you to write

down the negative automatic thought, including any
images or feelings that accompanied the thought.

After you have identified the thought, the worksheet

instructs you to note the evidence, both for the accuracy
of the thought and against the accuracy of the thought.
This is a classic mechanism used in many situations and
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can help you to make an informed decision about the

accuracy of your thoughts.

Next, you have an opportunity to create an alternative

thought that can replace the automatic negative thought.
Using the evidence for and against the initial thought, you
can come up with a thought that is more accurate.

Finally, you are instructed to rate the strength of the

emotion or feeling once again. The hope is that the
intensity of the feeling has decreased due to the
evidence-based evaluation of its accuracy.
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This worksheet will be available for download soon. Psychology Exercises For Free!

Decatastrophizing

This is a particularly good tool for talking yourself out of

catastrophizing a situation.

The worksheet begins with space to identify the

catastrophe that you are worrying about. You should
clearly state the predicted catastrophe and avoid using
“What if…?” statements. You can also rate how terrible
you believe this catastrophe will be on a scale from 0%
(not so bad) to 100% (absolutely awful).

Once you have articulated the catastrophe that is

worrying you, you can move on to thinking about how
likely the event is to actually happen. Consider whether a
similar event has occurred in your past and, if so, how
often it occurred. With the frequency of this catastrophe in
mind, make an educated guess of how likely it is to
happen.

Next, think about how terrible it would be if the

catastrophe actually came to pass. Consider the worst
case scenario as well as the best case scenario. Try to
put yourself in a friend’s shoes and think about what you
would say to yourself about your worry.

Once you have a good idea of how bad the catastrophe

would actually be, think about how you would cope with
the fallout. Note whether this has come to pass before
and, if so, how you coped when it happened. Consider

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the resources you have at your disposal to help you cope,

including friends and loved ones, skills or abilities you
have, and methods or techniques that help you cope in
other situations.

Finally, you are directed to put together a narrative about

the “catastrophe” based on the work you have done.
Think about what you would like to hear in order to feel
reassured, and what kind of tone would be most helpful.
Once you have come up with something positive and
reassuring to say to yourself about the potential
catastrophe, rate how terrible you think the catastrophe
will be once again. Download These 3 Positive
Psychology Exercises For Free!
Just as the repeated rating in the previous exercise is
intended to do, this repeated rating should show a
decrease in negative thinking.

This worksheet can be an excellent resource for anyone

who is worrying excessively about a potentially negative
event.

This worksheet will be available for download soon.

Modifying Rules and Assumptions

Cognitive distortions include assumptions and rules that

we hold dearly or have decided we must live by.
Sometimes these rules or assumptions help us to stick to
our values or our moral code, but often they can limit and
frustrate us.

This exercise can help you to think more critically about

an assumption or rule that may be harmful.

First, you list the rule or assumption that you live by but
would like to modify.

Next, you describe how the rule or assumption affects you

in your day to day life.

Once you have explained how the rule or assumption

impacts you, you are directed to think about where it
came from. Consider when you acquired this rule, how

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you learned about it, and what was happening in your life
that encouraged you to adopt it.

Now
that
you
have

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Psychology Exercises For Free!

outlined a definition of the rule or assumption and its

origins and impact on your life, you can move on to
comparing its advantages and disadvantages. Every rule
or assumption we follow will likely have both advantages
and disadvantages. The presence of one advantage does
not mean the rule or assumption is necessarily a good
one, just as the presence of one disadvantage does not
automatically make the rule or assumption a bad one.
This is where you must think critically about how the rule
or assumption helps and/or hurts you.

Finally, you have an opportunity to think about everything

you have listed and come up with a potential alternative
rule or assumption that would suit you better. This may be
a small change or a big modification. However you decide
to change the rule or assumption, the new version should
maximize the advantages of the rule, minimize or limit the
disadvantages, or both. Consider how you can put this
new and improved rule into practice in your daily life.

This worksheet will be available for download soon.

Fact or Opinion

This is one of the first lessons that participants in

cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) learn – that facts
are not opinions. As obvious as this seems, it can be
difficult to remember and adhere to this fact in your day to
day life.

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This exercise can help you learn the difference between

fact and opinion, and prepare you to distinguish between
your own opinions and facts.

The worksheet lists the following fifteen statements and

asks the reader to decide whether they are fact or
opinion:

I’m a bad person.

Sam told me that she didn’t like what I said about her.
Nothing ever goes right.
This will be a disaster. Download These 3 Positive
I’m not as attractive as they are. Psychology Exercises For Free!
I failed the test.
I am overweight.
He shouted at me.
I’m selfish.
There’s something wrong with me.
I’m lazy.
I didn’t lend my friend money when they asked.
My feet are too big.
I’m ugly.
No-one will ever love me.

Practicing making this distinction between fact and

opinion can improve your ability to quickly differentiate
between the two when they pop up in your own thoughts.

This worksheet will be available for download soon.

In case you’re wondering which is which, here is the key:

I’m a bad person. Opinion

Sam told me that she didn’t like what I said about her.
Fact
Nothing ever goes right. Opinion
This will be a disaster. Opinion
I’m not as attractive as they are. Opinion

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I failed the test. Fact

I am overweight. Fact
He shouted at me. Fact
I’m selfish. Opinion
There’s something wrong with me. Opinion
I’m lazy. Opinion
I didn’t lend my friend money when they asked. Fact
My feet are too big. Opinion
I’m ugly. Opinion
No-one will ever love me. Opinion
Download These 3 Positive
Psychology Exercises For Free!
Putting Thoughts on Trial

This exercise uses CBT theory and techniques to help

you examine your irrational thoughts. You will act as the
defense attorney, prosecutor, and judge all at once,
providing evidence for and against the irrational thought
and evaluating the merit of the thought based on this
evidence.

The worksheet begins with an explanation of the exercise

and a description of the roles you will be playing.

The first box to be completed is “The Thought.” This is

where you write down the irrational thought that is being
put on trial.

Next, you fill out “The Defense” box with evidence that
corroborates or supports the thought.

Once you have listed all of defense’s evidence, do the

same for “The Prosecution” box. Write down all of the
evidence calling the thought into question or instilling
doubt in its accuracy.

When you have listed all of the evidence you can think of,
both for and against the thought, evaluate the evidence
and write down the results of your evaluation in “The
Judge’s Verdict” box.

This worksheet is a fun and engaging way to think

critically about your negative or irrational thoughts and

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make good decisions about which thoughts to modify and

which to embrace.

Click here to see this worksheet for yourself.

A Take Home Message

Hopefully this piece has given you a good understanding
of cognitive distortions. These sneaky, inaccurate patterns
of thinking and believing are common, but their potential
impact should not be underestimated.
Download These 3 Positive
Even if you are not struggling with depression, anxiety, or Psychology Exercises For Free!
another serious mental health issue, it doesn’t hurt to
evaluate your own thoughts every now and then. The
sooner you catch a cognitive distortion and mount a
defense against it, the less likely it is to make a negative
impact on your life.

What do you think about cognitive distortions? Have you

experienced some of these yourself? Do you think we
missed any important ones? How have you tackled them,
whether in CBT or on your own? Let us know in the
comments!

Thanks for reading!

References

Related Posts

About the Author

Courtney Ackerman is a graduate of
the positive organizational
psychology and evaluation program
at Claremont Graduate University.
She is currently working as a
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