| Cognitive Distortion | Explanation | Example of Distorted Thinking |
| Arbitrary inference | Coming to a conclusion even when there is no evidence to support it | I am a horrible student. |
| Selective abstraction | Ignoring information and assuming something has happened based on details taken out of context | I know he is cheating because he is e-mailing a woman at work. |
| Overgeneralizing | Belief that something may always occur because it has occurred before | My boss doesn’t like me; I will never be liked. |
| Magnification-minimization | Belief that something is more or less critical than it really is—catastrophizing | If I don’t pass this first quiz, I will fail the course. |
| Dichotomous thinking | Viewing experiences in extremes | I can either be the top of my class, or I can get married and have a family. |
| Personalizing | Taking other people’s behaviors too personally | I waved at her, but she didn’t even acknowledge me.I must have upset her. |
| Psychiatrist Aaron Beck contends that psychological problems stem from distorted patterns of thought. Cognitive therapy aims to replace these cognitive distortions with more realistic and constructive ways of thinking. |
| SOURCE: BECK AND WEISHAAR (2014), PP. 231–264. |