Table 2 List and definitions of cognitive distortions (CDS)a and select examples of terms in the CDSa lexicon
Distortion | Definition | Select terms | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
Labeling and mislabeling | A way of thinking characterized by how we overgeneralize a trait to the whole person | I am a | “I am a firm believer that abortion is a woman's choice” |
He is a | |||
They are a | |||
Catastrophizing | A way of thinking characterized by predicting an outcome or jumping to a conclusion that may or may not happen | …Will go wrong | “If she has an abortion, it will be terrible for her family” |
…Will be terrible | |||
…Will be a disaster | |||
Dichotomous reasoning | A way of thinking characterized by polarized (i.e., black and white) expressions | Only | “I have always felt that abortions are morally wrong” |
Ever | |||
Always | |||
Emotional reasoning | A way of thinking characterized by drawing conclusions using emotional truth over empirical evidence | But I feel | “Abortion are legal; but I feel they should not be” |
Because I feel | |||
Since it feels | |||
Disqualifying the positive | A way of thinking characterized by filtering out a positive experience and focusing only on negative aspects | …Great but | “Abortions are great but at what cost?” |
…Acceptable, yet | |||
…. Not that good | |||
Magnification and minimization | A way of thinking characterized by exaggerating or dismissing key ideas | Worst | “Criminalizing abortion would be the worst decision ever” |
Best | |||
No matter | |||
Mental filtering | A way of thinking characterized by projecting one's views outward | All I see | “All I see are millions of unborn babies being killed” |
…Can only think | |||
If I only | |||
Mind reading | A way of thinking characterized by assuming one's personal views mirror others | Everyone knows | “Everyone knows abortion is a public good even if they won't admit it” |
No one believes | |||
They all know | |||
Fortune-telling | A way of thinking characterized by attempting to predict what is largely unknown | I will not… | “They will not outlaw abortion outright, there's just no way!” |
We will not… | |||
He/she will… | |||
Overgeneralizing | A way of thinking characterized by viewing a single event as an invariable rule | Completely | “Regretting an abortion? It will always happen!” |
Always happens | |||
Every single time | |||
Personalizing | A way of thinking characterized by placing blame entirely on oneself even if disconnected from the event | All me | “I tend to not have many friends because of my liberal abortion views” |
Because of my | |||
My responsibility | |||
Normative statements | A way of thinking characterized by projecting one's views as correct or right | Should [not] | “We should be honoring a baby's right to life!” |
Ought [not] | |||
Must |