Negative Thinking Flashcards
What is black & white thinking?
Viewing a situation in only two categories rather than on a
continuum
e.g., “If I’m not a total success, I’m a failure”
What is Catastrophizing?
Predicting the future negatively without considering other,
more likely outcomes
e.g.,” I’ll be so anxious I won’t be able to cope”
What does it mean by: Disqualifying the positive
Unreasonably state that positive experiences, deeds or
qualities do not count.
e.g., “I did that project well, but that doesn’t mean I’m
competent; I just got lucky”
What is emotional reasoning?
Thinking something must be true because it is believed so strongly, ignoring or discounting the evidence to the contrary. e.g., “I know I do a lot of things well at work but I still feel a
failure”
What is labelling in terms of negative thinking?
Putting a fixed global label on yourself or others without
considering that the evidence might more reasonably lead to a
less disastrous conclusion
e.g., “I’m a loser. He’s no good
What is magnification / minimisation in terms of negative thinking?
When you evaluate yourself, another person, or a situation,
you unreasonably magnify the negative and/or minimize the
positive.
e.g.,” Getting a mediocre evaluation proves how inadequate I
am. Getting high marks doesn’t mean I am smart”
What is a mental filter?
Paying undue attention to one negative detail instead of seeing
the whole picture
e.g., “Because I got a low rating on my evaluation [which also contained several high ratings] it means I’m doing a lousy job”.
What is mind reading in terms of negative thinking?
Believing that you know what others are thinking, failing to
consider other more likely options.
e.g., “He’s thinking that I don’t know the first thing about this
project”.
What is overgeneralization in terms of negative thinking?
Making a sweeping negative conclusion that goes far beyond the current situation.
e.g., “[Because I felt uncomfortable at the meeting] I don’t have
what it takes to make friends”
What is personalization in terms of negative thinking?
Believing others are behaving negatively because of you,
without considering more plausible explanations for their behaviour.
e.g., “The repairman was curt to me because I did something
wrong”.
What are should and must statements?
Having a precise, fixed idea of how you or others should behave and overestimating how bad it is that these expectations are not met.
e.g., “It’s terrible that I made a mistake. I should always do my
best”
What is tunnel vision in terms of negative thinking?
Only seeing the negative aspects of a situation
e.g., “My son’s teacher can’t do anything right. He’s critical and insensitive and lousy at teaching.
