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9 May / 2021

What are Thinking Errors in CBT (and how to manage them)

When generally talking about how effective CBT Therapy can be, we have discussed how two main components are involved in this type of work: Cognitive Therapy, which deals with the way we think, and Behavioural Therapy, which deals with our actions.

In this post, we’ll focus on one aspect of Cognitive Therapy which is crucial to CBT: dealing with Thinking Errors. These are automatic, often unrealistic types of thinking that can rapidly affect our mood and keep us stuck in a cycle of anxiety, sadness or other difficult emotions. However, in CBT, learning how to identify and label them, can make the difference between escalating and containing our difficult emotions.

What are Thinking Errors?

Thinking Errors – also known as Cognitive Distortions – are irrational and extreme ways of thinking that can maintain mental and emotional issues. Anxiety, low mood, worry, anger management issues are often fuelled by this type of thinking.

Thinking errors, proposed initially by Aaron Beck (1963) (one of the leading CBT figures), are essential in how CBT works with anxiety and other issues.

Although we all fall prey to irrational and extreme thinking, Thinking Errors are a distinctive aspect of the everyday life of those who often experience unpleasant emotions. In anxiety, for instance, the unpleasant feelings are triggered by frequent negative and unbalanced thinking. This type of thinking then informs decisions on how to act, which are equally unhelpful. This chain of events keeps us stuck in a vicious anxiety cycle, as the one below.

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How do Thinking Errors Affect Anxiety?

Thinking errors play an essential role in keeping us anxious, low or frustrated. They’re what makes the difference between seeing the glass half full or half empty.

Cognitive distortions tend to be consistent with the expectations we have of a situation. For instance, if we have a generally negative outlook on how others see us, it’s more likely that our thinking errors will confirm such negative expectations. For example, after our boss expresses dissatisfaction with our department’s performance, typical thinking errors that may arise could be: “She thinks I am rubbish” (Mind Reading) and “I will lose my job” (Catastrophising).

By falling trap of and believing these thinking errors are factual, we will sink deeper into the negative emotions associated with them, for example, worry, anxiety or fear.

This is why thinking errors are a critical component in increasing and maintaining our anxiety.

How do Thoughts Affect our Mental Health?

If you missed our main article on CBT therapy for anxiety , let’s briefly refresh why thoughts are so crucial to our mental health. CBT believes that we feel anxious, sad or angry because of the thoughts (or images) triggered by the situations that make us feel anxious, sad or angry.

With anxiety, for instance, if you notice your heart racing and have the thought: “I’ll have a heart attack!” this is likely to make you feel anxious. Although it’s completely normal to feel anxious if you believe you’re having a heart attack, if you look closely (and if you don’t have a physical condition), the likelihood of that thought being true is generally very low. Yet, by believing in such a thought, you’re accidentally falling into the trap of anxiety. This is the reason we label these kinds of thoughts as negative or ‘unhelpful’. Your unhelpful thoughts become a prime target of CBT Therapy.

How does CBT work with Thinking Errors?

One of the aims of CBT Therapy for Anxiety (and other issues) is to work on challenging and reframing negative, unhelpful thoughts. This almost always involves some form of journaling and keeping a diary of the thoughts that affect your mood daily. The goal here is to help you identify your unhelpful thoughts and label them as irrational. Following that, with the help of a CBT therapist, the work shifts towards generating more balanced and rational, evidence-based alternative thoughts.

When new, realistic and balanced thoughts are adopted, replacing the unhelpful, irrational ones, you will start to notice a reduction in the intensity of your anxiety reaction. The more unhelpful thoughts are recognised and replaced with helpful, realistic ones, the more anxiety loses its grip on you. You’re able to live a life guided by your choices rather than by fear.

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How Can We Identify Thinking Errors? A Practical Example

Challenging and reframing unhelpful thoughts can be significantly improved when you can categorise them as thinking errors.

Once you know how they sound, it’s easy to identify if one of your thoughts is a thinking error. When you identify a thought as a thinking error, it’s much more likely to lose its credibility, leading you to feel less anxious, sad or angry.

In other words, recognising and labelling thinking errors when they arise can significantly improve our ability to start escaping the anxiety trap.

Let’s see how it’s done with an example:

Jennifer is at a work meeting with 10 other people; she’s usually a bit shy and tends to not talk too much when there are many people around for fear of being judged.
Jennifer’s boss explains that her department did not meet the targets and expresses her disappointment.
Jennifer feels anxious and on edge. Although she knows her team has done everything they could to meet the target, she chooses not to say a word for fear of confronting her boss.
After the meeting, Jennifer returns to her desk. She notices her anxiety increasing. Her heart is racing. In her mind, many thoughts crop up about her boss and the meeting: “ She thinks I am rubbish “, “ I will be fired “. Her mind is on a roll, and her thoughts escalate: “ I will never get another job “, “ I won’t be able to pay the rent and end up living on the street “.
The more these thoughts mount up, unchallenged, the more Jennifer’s Anxiety grows, to the point of needing to take the afternoon off to go home and cool down.
When she’s back home, Jennifer feels less anxious. However, other negative thoughts crop up, like: “ I’m such a failure for having left earlier “, “ others must have noticed my anxiety and believe I am rubbish “. Ultimately these thoughts contribute to maintaining her anxiety.

What’s the issue with Jennifer, then? The main problem is that whenever thoughts naturally arise, she accepts them as facts, no matter how potentially far-fetched or irrational they might be.

If we look closely, many of her thoughts are pretty unhelpful and irrational. Crucially, the most powerful ones are precisely thinking errors! Here they are:

– “ She thinks I am rubbish ” – Mind Reading

– “ I will never get another job ” Catastrophising/Overgeneralising

– “ I will end up living on the street ” Catastrophising/Overgeneralising

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How to Correct Thinking Errors? Some Practical Tips:

Catching our minds engaging in thinking errors, and labelling them can be an effective way to avoid making them and tackling anxiety and other challenging emotions in our everyday lives.

If Jennifer could recognise and label her own thoughts as thinking errors in our example, she would have a chance to dismiss them and start decreasing her anxiety. She could then choose to not escape the situation by leaving work early and would ultimately feel better about herself.

Over time, Jennifer would feel more confident and would less likely fall prey to her thinking errors in the future!

1) Start a daily journal.

Pick your favourite medium (a notebook, your notes app or anything else) and write down the negative emotions you feel daily (e.g., anxiety, worry, sadness, etc.). Then, next to them, jot down the thoughts associated with those emotions (e.g., “my boss thinks I am rubbish”). To do this, ask yourself, “What thought or image is making me feel distressed?”.

2) Identify and Label your Thinking Errors.

After step one, take a look at the table (or infographic) below, with a list of some of the most well-known thinking errors, and see if any of the thoughts you wrote down can be labelled as thinking errors.

3) Reality Check!

Once you have identified any of your thoughts as thinking errors, it’s time for a reality check. Ask yourself whether they are actually true and remind yourself that these cognitive distortions are known to be unrealistic, extreme and irrational. There is very likely no good reason to believe them.

Repeating these steps consistently has the potential to help you gradually reduce your anxiety (as well as other negative emotions).

What Are Common Thinking Errors?

Overcome thinking errors starting today.

Thinking errors (or Cognitive Distortions) are well-known mechanisms that keep our negative emotions going. Hopefully, this article helped you learn more about them and get you started on tackling them. Keep in mind that there are times in which we’re stuck in a vicious cycles of anxiety, sadness and other difficult emotions, and we might not be able to get out of them on our own. If your difficult emotions have significantly started affecting your life, get in touch with us for professional help. Our CBT trained therapists have the expertise to help you work with your thinking errors and negative emotions, discover more about CBT Therapy .

With our help, you’ll have the chance to make the crucial changes to bring balance and fulfilment back into your life!

Get in touch with us for a FREE 15 min consultation today!

Beck, A. T. (1963). Thinking and depression: I. Idiosyncratic content and cognitive distortions . Archives of general psychiatry , 9 (4), 324-333. Chicago

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Thinking Errors: Understanding and Overcoming Cognitive Distortions

In the complex realm of human cognition, thinking errors, also known as cognitive distortions, often play a significant role. These distorted thought patterns can skew our perception of reality, impacting our emotions, behaviors, and overall mental health. This article delves into the nature of thinking errors, their common types, and strategies for overcoming them.

Decoding Thinking Errors

Thinking errors are irrational and inaccurate thoughts that individuals generally perceive as accurate. These thoughts are often automatic and can significantly influence one's emotions and behaviors.

The Origin of Thinking Errors

Cognitive distortions or thinking errors can stem from various sources, including traumatic experiences, upbringing, or mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression.

The Impact of Thinking Errors

Thinking errors can have a profound impact on an individual's mental health and overall quality of life. These distortions can fuel negative emotions and behaviors, and often contribute to mental health disorders.

Common Types of Thinking Errors

There are several types of thinking errors that psychologists have identified. Understanding these can help individuals recognize and challenge their distorted thought patterns.

All-or-Nothing Thinking

This type of thinking, also known as black-and-white thinking, involves viewing situations in absolutes. For instance, if a situation isn't perfect, it's considered a complete failure.

Overgeneralization

Overgeneralization involves drawing broad conclusions based on a single event or piece of evidence. If something bad happens once, it's expected to happen over and over again.

Catastrophizing

Catastrophizing refers to the tendency to expect the worst possible outcome in any situation. This thinking error often fuels anxiety and stress.

Strategies for Overcoming Thinking Errors

Overcoming thinking errors involves recognizing distorted thoughts, challenging them, and replacing them with more rational and accurate thoughts.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an effective approach for dealing with thinking errors. It involves identifying distorted thoughts, evaluating their accuracy, and challenging them.

Mindfulness and Meditation

Practicing mindfulness and meditation can also help overcome thinking errors. These practices foster increased awareness of one's thoughts, making it easier to identify and challenge thinking errors.

Seeking Professional Help

If thinking errors significantly impact one's life, seeking help from a mental health professional can be beneficial. They can provide guidance, therapeutic interventions, and the necessary tools to overcome thinking errors.

Thinking errors are common but can be harmful to our mental wellbeing. Recognizing and understanding these distortions is the first step towards combating them. With effective strategies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, mindfulness, and professional help, these distorted thought patterns can be corrected, paving the way for improved mental health and a better quality of life.

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Sources of Errors in Thinking and How to Avoid Them

First Online: 20 December 2016

Cite this chapter

Balu H. Athreya 3 , 4 &
Chrystalla Mouza 5

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In this chapter we discuss ways in which our experiences might mislead our thinking. We identify sources of errors in thinking as well as time-honored strategies to avoid these errors. Being aware of these errors is crucial to developing critical thinking skills.

“Natural intelligence is no barrier to the propagation of error.” —John Dewey ( 1910 , p. 21) “Distortions in thinking are often due to unconscious bias and unrecognized ignorance” —Susan Stebbing ( 1939 , p. 5)

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Athreya, B.H., Mouza, C. (2017). Sources of Errors in Thinking and How to Avoid Them. In: Thinking Skills for the Digital Generation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12364-6_7

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MentalCurve

21 thinking errors and how to change them.

Updated: May 11, 2022

The term "thinking errors" refers to self-defeating thinking patterns. The majority of people who have thinking errors are unaware of it. It's when what you're thinking doesn't match up with reality. During emotional periods, thinking errors are fully active in your mind and lead to strong emotions and (self)destructive behavior.

Thoughts run through our heads all day long, without us consciously managing them. Each of us is estimated to have roughly 125.000 thoughts per day, with about 80.000 of those being us talking to ourselves about ourselves. Everyone has unhelpful thinking patterns, schemas, and thinking errors that cause them to perceive reality in a distorted way.

What Are Thinking Errors?

Thinking errors, also known as cognitive distortions, are thoughts that do not match up with reality. These thoughts often have negative consequences. People who experience thinking errors are often not aware of it and perceive their thoughts as the truth.

What are common Thinking Errors?

Thinking errors are not logical and are unrealistic ways of thinking. They make you not perceive the situation as it actually is but in a distorted way. Thinking errors are still fairly easy to spot. Common thinking errors with examples :

All or nothing (black and white) thinking : It's all or nothing, good or bad, either perfect or a complete failure. There is no middle ground, and there are no gray areas.

Generalizing : You draw a general conclusion based on a single incident or evidence. You believe that if something bad happened once, it will repeat itself again and again. The words 'always' and 'never' play an important role. Example: You ask someone out on a date, and you are rejected. You conclude that no one ever wants to go out with you.

Selective negative focus (tunnel vision) : You only extract the negative details from every situation and focus on that part. You leave any positive or neutral details aside. You conclude that the whole situation is negative. Example: You get the test results back at school, and it turns out you have answered 5 out of 100 questions incorrectly. You continue to focus on those five mistakes and completely ignore the 95 questions you got right.

Suppressing the positive : You deny anything that conflicts with your negative attitude and often quickly come up with clever ways to undermine positive information. Example: Someone compliments you on your appearance. You immediately undermine the comment by saying that he or she has no taste.

Unfair comparison : You tend to always compare yourself and your achievements with others who have it better, more beautiful, nicer, easier, etc. This often leaves you feeling disappointed and dissatisfied.

Jumping to conclusions : You are far too quick to jump to a negative conclusion that doesn't match the facts or the overall situation. Example: Your colleague says no to your request to do something for you, and you immediately think that he or she doesn't like you.

Mind-reading : You assume that someone else is thinking something, and without checking that your assumptions are correct, you react based on that assumption. You think you already know what the other person is thinking and feeling. Example: You want to ask your employer for a raise, but you assume that he or she doesn't like you, and so you get mad because you don't get a raise.

Negative predictions/self-fulfilling prophecy : You imagine that something bad is about to happen, you believe the prediction is true, and you react as if it has already happened. This is often referred to as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Example: You want to ask your employer for a raise, but you assume you won't get it. As a result, you don't even ask for it and don't try your best to earn a raise.

Magnify : You blow things out of their proportions. Example: Your partner doesn't want to have sex with you because he or she is tired, and you immediately think that he or she has someone else and will leave you soon.

Minimize : You decide to ignore the obvious information. Example: Every night, your partner returns home late, with no explanation for where he or she has been. Your partner is texting and has phone conversations that you are not allowed to know anything about. You refuse the thought that your partner could be having an affair. You tell yourself that he or she is working overtime to get ahead and that the person is just a colleague.

Emotional Reasoning : You view your emotions as evidence of how things really are. ''I feel, therefore I am''. Example: You feel anxious and unsafe when you enter a room; so you conclude that the room is a dangerous place.

''How it should be'' statement : You have a list of unavoidable rules of how things should be and especially how you and others should behave. Example: Your doctor is ten minutes late for your appointment. You think that everyone should always be exactly on time and you get very angry about his/her lack of respect.

Labeling : You put a label on someone and then treat that person as if he or she fits your description. Example: You find out that someone you know is unemployed. You conclude that that person is lazy, and you refuse to help that person with anything in the future.

Involve yourself : You relate an event to yourself when there is no reason to. Example: At work, a group of colleagues is talking to each other. You immediately assume that it will be about you.

Misconceptions about fairness : You believe that everything in life should be fair, and you get upset when injustice happens. Example: Your colleague has been promoted to a project for which you have done the most work. You're quitting your job because you think you should have gotten that promotion.

Reward misconceptions : You believe that you should always be rewarded when you do something good. Attention must be paid to it, and recognition and appreciation must be expressed.

Misconceptions about control : You believe that you should always be in control of everything that happens to you and around you. Example: You get upset when your food burns because you had to watch your child when the bell rang and didn't hear the kitchen timer. You expect yourself to have better control over the household, your child, and unexpected visitors.

Doom-mongering : You foresee disaster in every situation. Example: You go to a job interview and become worried when you realize that you won't get the job anyway. And if you do get one, you'll probably be treated terribly by your employer, you'll be fired before you know it, and no one will ever hire you for any position again. Every situation always seems to be a (horror)movie that ends badly.

Accusing others : You hold others responsible for your misery, and you refuse to look at your own doing. Example: You get a ticket for speeding and blame your child for distracting you while driving.

Blaming yourself : You blame yourself for every problem you run into. You judge yourself while you ignore others' doings.

Superstitious thinking : Illogical connections between cause and effect. Example: If I like something, it is always taken away immediately. When I go out, it always rains.

How do you challenge Thinking Errors?

Below are a few questions that can help you challenge thinking errors. This is easiest to do when you are not in an emotional period. Examine your thoughts and notice if any of them are distorted and/or negative. Ask yourself the following questions:

What evidence do I have that this is the truth?

Do I have one or more past experiences that contradict this thought?

If I asked 100 people if they believed this thought, what would they say?

If I look back on this in five years, will I see it differently?

How does this thought bother me?

Can you think of anything else?

Do I think differently about this when I'm not in an emotional episode?

When I felt this way in the past, what did I think about to feel better?

Do I have any strengths or positive qualities, or are there any positives to the situation?

Is it possible that I'm blaming myself for something over which I have no control?

Will this thought hold up in court? What would a judge ultimately say about it?

It's possible that it's more than just thinking errors, and that they are schemas developed from your childhood. If you want to learn more about this, you could read more about The 19 Schemas of Borderline Personality Disorder .

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Thinking Errors: 15 Definitions and Examples

How we think influences both our emotions and behaviors. If we have the tendency to think negative thoughts we may be more inclined to engage in harmful behaviors. Similarly positive thinking can lead to healthy behaviors. The therapeutic modality called Cognitive-Behavior Therapy focuses on changing thought patterns to encourage healthy behaviors. Before changing your thought patterns it is helpful to identify common thinking errors (AKA cognitive distortions or maladaptive thinking.

All-or-nothing thinking or Black-White thinking

Thinking in absolutes such as “always,” “never,” and “every.” There is no grey area between two opposite truths. Someone who engages in all-or-nothing thinking may not be able to recognize that they can be mad at someone and still love them. They may not realize it is possible to practice productive rest. Examples include:

“I never do anything right”

“Every time I ask for help, you tell me no”

“I can never be happy.”

“She never listens to me”

Overgeneralization

Taking one instant or event and making broad interpretations from it. This thinking errors can often lead to all-or-nothing thinking. For example someone may freeze up during an exam and conclude they never succeed at anything they try. Another example includes someone fumbling over their words during a speech and concluding they are the worst at public speaking. Overgeneralization happens when an event holds more weight than necessary for a negative belief.

Exaggeration or blowing things up

Giving a thought, feeling, or event more importance than it holds. A single mistake may be deemed the worst catastrophe ever. Examples include getting a single stain on your shoe and deeming the pair unwearable. Someone is unable to meet up with their friends as planned and decides their friends are horrible people. Forgetting to put the milk back in the fridge and concluding they are the worst spouse and/or child ever.

Catastrophizing

A form of exaggeration that can sometimes lead to paranoia. Catastrophizing is an anticipation of the worst possible outcome. This thinking errors can include worrying about a loved one when you have trouble getting in contact with them. “He didn’t answer my call, he must be dead.” Another example includes someone ignoring a call because they are worried it will lead to an argument.

Minimization

The opposite of exaggeration, minimization involves giving less significance to an event, feeling, or thought. Examples include telling someone “fine” after a bad day or when someone feels hurt, angry, or sad and insists it’s “no big deal.” Minimization can be a form of lying to ourselves about our feelings, including positive ones. For example, someone may state they felt happy for a second, but discount it because they are “always sad.”

Downplaying the positive

A form of minimization that involves discounting positive events or traits. Examples include:

“I know I’m a nice person, but isn’t everyone”

“Scoring a goal doesn’t count when the team lost”

“So what if I’m caring; no one else seems to care.”

Mental filter or Ignoring the good

Filters influence how we interpret and understand events around us. A negative filter can cause us to interpret most events in a negative light. For example someone gives a gift and it is interpreted as an attempt to buy friendship. Someone with a negative filter is unable to acknowledge positives. Another example includes someone getting a raise and assuming it’s only the result of office politics.

Negative Labeling

Taking a single mistake or mess-up and turning it into a defining characteristics. Instead of staying “I made a mistake” someone will say “I am a mistake.” More examples include:

It’s “you are a loser” when “you lost the game”

Instead of “I acted like a jerk” it’s “I am a jerk”

Mind-reading

Making an assumption that you know exactly what someone else is thinking without sufficient evidence. The key here is without sufficient evidence. It is possible to make informed decisions, however the best way to know what someone thinks is for them to communicate it directly. Examples include:

“They hate me”

“People think I’m weird”

“They’re embarrassed by me”

Fortune-telling

Making an assumptions about the future without sufficient evidence. This thinking errors is different than making a prediction in that the assumption is stated as factual. It is the equivalent of saying “I know without a doubt that [fill in the blank] is going to happen.” While there is wisdom in taking precautions against potential events, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be open to the possibility of a different outcome. Examples include:

“I know if I ask her to the dance she’s going to say no”

“Nothing will ever change”

“No will listen if I ask for help”

Emotional Reasoning

Also known as feelings as facts, emotional reasoning is when our emotions are interpreted as factual. While emotions are a source of information and assist with communication they are not always accurate to reality. Examples include:

“I feel ugly, so I must be ugly”

“You are a bad friend because I feel hurt”

“I feel scared, so I must be in danger”

Should Statements or Unrealistic expectations

Setting unachievable goals often couched in the form of a “should statement.” Perfectionism is a good example of the dangers of “should” statements. While certain expectation can push us to thrive, unrealistic expectations can raise feelings of inadequacy We may place unnecessary pressure on ourselves to follow through on a “should” statement

Personalization or Self-blame

Taking responsibility for something outside of our control. The fact is we are not responsible for other people’s emotion, thoughts or behavior. Although we can influence others there is a point at which they must take responsibility for their decisions. An example of personalization includes when someone blames themselves for a family member being depressed.

Other-blaming

In contrast to self-blame, other-blame is when we do not take responsibility for our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. Instead, we hold others responsible for our feelings and behaviors. This may include someone who refuses to acknowledge how they may have contributed to a conflict. Examples include:

“Look at what you made me do”

“It’s your fault I’m so messed up”

“You never let me leave this relationship”

Magical Thinking

The belief that acts will influence unrelated situations. Magical thinking can present itself in a number of different ways. One example includes the belief that someone is protected from experiencing negative consequences, such as a chronic smoker who believes they will never get lung cancer. Another example includes the belief that thinking positively always results in a desired outcome, such as someone who believes they will get a job offer because they thought three positive affirmations before an interview. More extreme forms of magical thinking present as delusional beliefs, however there are still more subtle forms of magical thinking, including the belief that good things happen to good people.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:5

You may have noticed some overlap between these cognitive distortions. It is rare for these thinking errors to exist exclusive to one another and overlap is expected. However it can help to isolate and target a specific thought pattern you may want to start challenging.

References and External Resources

Feeling Good Website developed by David D Burns

Cognitive Distortions and Thinking Errors – How can CBT Help from KlearMinds

Therapist Aid Handouts – Cognitive Distortions and Errors in Thinking

Elizabeth Aliotta

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Surrender and Change: Psychological Insights

Cognitive Dissonance in Christian Living

October 15, 2021

People Who Jump to Conclusions Show Other Kinds of Thinking Errors

Belief in conspiracy theories and overconfidence are two tendencies linked to hasty thinking

By Carmen Sanchez & David Dunning

Man holding a lightbulb globe arrangement taking a leap.

Islenia Milien

H ow much time do you spend doing research before you make a big decision? The answer for many of us, it turns out, is hardly any. Before buying a car, for instance, most people make two or fewer trips to a dealership. And when picking a doctor, many individuals simply use recommendations from friends and family rather than consulting medical professionals or sources such as health-care websites or articles on good physicians, according to an analysis published in the journal Health Services Research .

We are not necessarily conserving our mental resources to spend them on even weightier decisions. One in five Americans spends more time planning their upcoming vacation than they do on their financial future . There are people who go over every detail exhaustively before making a choice, and it is certainly possible to overthink things . But a fair number of individuals are quick to jump to conclusions. Psychologists call this way of thinking a cognitive bias, a tendency toward a specific mental mistake. In this case, the error is making a call based on the sparsest of evidence.

In our own research, we have found that hasty judgments are often just one part of larger error-prone patterns in behavior and thinking . These patterns have costs. People who tend to make such jumps in their reasoning often choose a bet in which they have low chances of winning instead of one where their chances are much better.

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To study jumping, we examined decision-making patterns among more than 600 people from the general population. Because much of the work on this type of bias comes from studies of schizophrenia (jumping to conclusions is common among people with the condition), we borrowed a thinking game used in that area of research.

In this game, players encountered someone who was fishing from one of two lakes: in one lake, most of the fish were red; in the other, most were gray. The fisher would catch one fish at a time and stop only when players thought they could say which lake was being fished. Some players had to see many fish before making a decision. Others—the jumpers—stopped after only one or two.

We also asked participants questions to learn more about their thought patterns. We found that the fewer fish a player waited to see, the more errors that individual made in other types of beliefs, reasoning and decisions.

For instance, the earlier people jumped, the more likely they were to endorse conspiracy theories, such as the idea that the Apollo moon landings had been faked. Such individuals were also more likely to believe in paranormal phenomena and medical myths , such as the idea that health officials are actively hiding a link between cell phones and cancer.

Jumpers made more errors than nonjumpers on problems that require thoughtful analysis. Consider this brainteaser : “A baseball bat and ball cost $1.10 together. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?” Many respondents leaped to the conclusion of 10 cents, but a little thought reveals the right answer to be five cents. (It’s true; think the problem through.)

In a gambling task, people with a tendency to jump were more often lured into choosing inferior bets over those in which they had a better chance of winning. Specifically, jumpers fell into the trap of focusing on the number of times a winning outcome could happen rather than the full range of possible outcomes.

Jumpers also had problems with overconfidence: on a quiz about U.S. civics, they overestimated the chance that their answers were right significantly more than other participants did—even when their answers were wrong.

The distinctions in decision quality between those who jumped and those who did not remained even after we took intelligence—based on a test of verbal intellect—and personality differences into account. Our data also suggested the difference was not merely the result of jumpers rushing through our tasks.

So what is behind jumping? Psychological researchers commonly distinguish between two pathways of thought: automatic, known as system 1, which reflects ideas that come to the mind easily, spontaneously and without effort; and controlled, or system 2, comprising conscious and effortful reasoning that is analytical, mindful and deliberate.

We used several assessments that teased apart how automatic our participants’ responses were and how much they engaged in deliberate analysis. We found that jumpers and nonjumpers were equally swayed by automatic (system 1) thoughts. The jumpers, however, did not engage in controlled (system 2) reasoning to the same degree as nonjumpers.

It is system 2 thinking that helps people counterbalance mental contaminants and other biases introduced by the more knee-jerk system 1. Put another way, jumpers were more likely to accept the conclusions they made at first blush without deliberative examination or questioning. A lack of system 2 thinking was also more broadly connected to their problematic beliefs and faulty reasoning.

Happily, there may be some hope for jumpers: Our work suggests that using training to target their biases can help people think more deliberatively. Specifically, we adapted a method called metacognitive training from schizophrenia research and created a self-paced online version of the intervention. In this training, participants are confronted with their own biases. For example, as part of our approach, we ask people to tackle puzzles, and after they make mistakes related to specific biases, these errors are called out so the participants can learn about the missteps and other ways of thinking through the problem at hand. This intervention helps to chip away at participants’ overconfidence.

We plan to continue this work to trace other problems introduced by jumping. Also, we wonder whether this cognitive bias offers any potential benefits that could account for how common it is. In the process, we aim to give back to schizophrenia research. In some studies, as many as two thirds of people with schizophrenia who express delusions also exhibit a jumping bias when solving simple, abstract probability problems, in comparison with up to one fifth of the general population.

Schizophrenia is a relatively rare condition, and much about the connection between jumping and judgment issues is not well understood. Our work with general populations could potentially fill this gap in ways that help people with schizophrenia.

In everyday life, the question of whether we should think things through or instead go with our gut is a frequent and important one. Recent studies show that even gathering just a little bit more evidence may help us avoid a major mistake. Sometimes the most important decision we make can be to take some more time before making a choice.

10 Thinking Errors That Will Crush Your Mental Strength

... and how to overcome them..

Posted January 24, 2015 | Reviewed by Matt Huston

Often, our conscious thoughts aren't realistic; they're irrational and inaccurate.
Recognizing and replacing inaccurate thoughts can be the key to improving communication, relationships, and decision-making.
Assuming knowledge of what's going on in someone else's mind is a thinking error that can lead to problems.

Mental strength requires a three-pronged approach— managing our thoughts , regulating our emotions , and behaving productively despite our circumstances .

While all three areas can be a struggle, it's often our thoughts that make it most difficult to be mentally strong.

As we go about our daily routines, our internal monologue narrates our experience. Our self-talk guides our behavior and influences the way we interact with others. It also plays a major role in how you feel about yourself, other people, and the world in general.

Quite often, however, our conscious thoughts aren't realistic; they're irrational and inaccurate. Believing our irrational thoughts can lead to problems, including communication issues, relationship problems, and unhealthy decisions.

Whether you're striving to reach personal or professional goals, the key to success often starts with recognizing and replacing inaccurate thoughts. The most common thinking errors can be divided into these 10 categories, which are adapted from David Burns's book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy .

1. All-or-Nothing Thinking Sometimes we see things as being black or white: Perhaps you have two categories of coworkers in your mind—the good ones and the bad ones. Or maybe you look at each project as either a success or a failure. Recognize the shades of gray, rather than putting things in terms of all good or all bad.

2. Overgeneralizing It's easy to take one particular event and generalize it to the rest of our life. If you failed to close one deal, you may decide, "I'm bad at closing deals." Or if you are treated poorly by one family member, you might think, "Everyone in my family is rude." Take notice of times when an incident may apply to only one specific situation, instead of all other areas of life.

3. Filtering Out the Positive If nine good things happen, and one bad thing, sometimes we filter out the good and zoom in on the bad. Maybe we declare we had a bad day, despite the positive events that occurred. Or maybe we look back at our performance and declare it was terrible because we made a single mistake. Filtering out the positive can prevent you from establishing a realistic outlook on a situation. Develop a balanced outlook by noticing both the positive and the negative.

4. Mind-Reading We can never be sure what someone else is thinking. Yet, everyone occasionally assumes they know what's going on in someone else's mind. Thinking things like "He must have thought I was stupid at the meeting" makes inferences that aren't necessarily based on reality. Remind yourself that you may not be making accurate guesses about other people's perceptions.

5. Catastrophizing Sometimes we think things are much worse than they actually are. If you fall short on meeting your financial goals one month you may think, "I'm going to end up bankrupt," or "I'll never have enough money to retire," even though there's no evidence that the situation is nearly that dire. It can be easy to get swept up into catastrophizing a situation once your thoughts become negative. When you begin predicting doom and gloom, remind yourself that there are many other potential outcomes.

6. Emotional Reasoning Our emotions aren't always based on reality but we often assume those feelings are rational. If you're worried about making a career change, you might assume, "If I'm this scared about it, I just shouldn't change jobs." Or, you may be tempted to assume, "If I feel like a loser, I must be a loser." It's essential to recognize that emotions, just like our thoughts, aren't always based on the facts.

7. Labeling Labeling involves putting a name to something. Instead of thinking, "He made a mistake," you might label your neighbor as "an idiot." Labeling people and experiences places them into categories that are often based on isolated incidents. Notice when you try to categorize things and work to avoid placing mental labels on everything.

8. Fortune-telling Although none of us knows what will happen in the future, we sometimes like to try our hand at fortune-telling. We think things like, "I'm going to embarrass myself tomorrow," or "If I go on a diet , I'll probably just gain weight." These types of thoughts can become self-fulfilling prophecies if you're not careful. When you're predicting doom and gloom, remind yourself of all the other possible outcomes.

9. Personalization As much as we'd like to say we don't think the world revolves around us, it's easy to personalize everything. If a friend doesn't call back, you may assume, "She must be mad at me," or if a co-worker is grumpy, you might conclude, "He doesn't like me." When you catch yourself personalizing situations, take time to point out other possible factors that may be influencing the circumstances.

10. Unreal Ideal Making unfair comparisons between ourselves and other people can ruin our motivation . Looking at someone who has achieved much success and thinking, "I should have been able to do that," isn't helpful, especially if that person had some lucky breaks or competitive advantages along the way. Rather than measuring your life against someone else's, commit to focusing on your own path to success.

Fixing Thinking Errors Once you recognize your thinking errors, you can begin trying to challenge those thoughts. Look for exceptions to the rule and gather evidence that your thoughts aren't 100% true. Then, you can begin replacing them with more realistic thoughts.

The goal doesn't need to be to replace negative thoughts with overly idealistic or positive ones. Instead, replace them with realistic thoughts. Changing the way you think takes a lot of effort initially, but with practice, you'll notice big changes—not just in the way you think, but also in the way you feel and behave. You can make peace with the past, look at the present differently, and think about the future in a way that will support your chances of reaching your goals.

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and the author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do .

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How to Write a Critical Thinking Essay: Examples & Outline

Critical thinking is the process of evaluating and analyzing information. People who use it in everyday life are open to different opinions. They rely on reason and logic when making conclusions about certain issues.

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A critical thinking essay shows how your thoughts change as you research your topic. This type of assignment encourages you to learn rather than prove what you already know. In this article, our custom writing team will:

explain how to write an excellent critical essay;
introduce 30 great essay topics;
provide a critical thinking essay example in MLA format.
🤔 Critical Thinking Essay Definition
💡 Topics & Questions
✅ Step-by-Step Guide
📑 Essay Example & Formatting Tips
✍️ Bonus Tips

🔍 References

🤔 what is a critical thinking essay.

A critical thinking essay is a paper that analyses an issue and reflects on it in order to develop an action plan. Unlike other essay types, it starts with a question instead of a thesis. It helps you develop a broader perspective on a specific issue. Critical writing aims at improving your analytical skills and encourages asking questions.

The picture shows the functions of critical thinking in writing.

Critical Thinking in Writing: Importance

When we talk about critical thinking and writing, the word “critical” doesn’t have any negative connotation. It simply implies thorough investigation, evaluation, and analysis of information. Critical thinking allows students to make objective conclusions and present their ideas logically. It also helps them avoid errors in reasoning.

The Basics: 8 Steps of Critical Thinking Psychology

Did you know that the critical thinking process consists of 8 steps? We’ve listed them below. You can try to implement them in your everyday life:

It’s possible that fallacies will occur during the process of critical thinking. Fallacies are errors in reasoning that fail to provide a reasonable conclusion. Here are some common types of fallacies:

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Generalization . It happens when you apply generally factual statements to a specific case.
Ambiguity . It occurs when the arguments are not clear and are not supported by evidence.
Appeal to authority . This mistake happens when you claim the statement is valid only because a respected person made it.
Appeal to emotion . It occurs when you use highly emotive language to convince the audience. Try to stay sensible and rely on the evidence.
Bifurcation . This mistake occurs when you choose only between two alternatives when more than two exist.
False analogy . It happens when the examples are poorly connected.

If you want to avoid these mistakes, do the following:

try not to draw conclusions too quickly,
be attentive,
carefully read through all the sources,
avoid generalizations.

How to Demonstrate Your Critical Thinking in Writing

Critical thinking encourages you to go beyond what you know and study new perspectives. When it comes to demonstrating your critical thinking skills in writing, you can try these strategies:

Read . Before you start writing an essay, read everything you can find on the subject you are about to cover. Focus on the critical points of your assignment.
Research . Look up several scholarly sources and study the information in-depth.
Evaluate . Analyze the sources and the information you’ve gathered. See whether you can disagree with the authors.
Prove . Explain why you agree or disagree with the authors’ conclusions. Back it up with evidence.

According to Purdue University, logical essay writing is essential when you deal with academic essays. It helps you demonstrate and prove the arguments. Make sure that your paper reaches a logical conclusion.

There are several main concepts related to logic:

If you want your essay to be logical, it’s better to avoid syllogistic fallacies, which happen with certain invalid deductions. If syllogisms are used carelessly, they can lead to false statements and ruin the credibility of your paper.

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💡 Critical Thinking Topics & Questions

An excellent critical thinking essay starts with a question. But how do you formulate it properly? Keep reading to find out.

How to Write Critical Thinking Questions: Examples with Answers

Asking the right questions is at the core of critical thinking. They challenge our beliefs and encourage our interest to learn more.

Here are some examples of model questions that prompt critical thinking:

What does… mean?
What would happen if…?
What are the principles of…?
Why is… important?
How does… affect…?
What do you think causes…?
How are… and… similar/different?
How do you explain….?
What are the implications of…?
What do we already know about…?

Now, let’s look at some critical thinking questions with the answers. You can use these as a model for your own questions:

Question: What would happen if people with higher income paid more taxes?

Answer: It would help society to prosper and function better. It would also help people out of poverty. This way, everyone can contribute to the economy.

Question: How does eating healthy benefit you?

Answer: Healthy eating affects people’s lives in many positive ways. It reduces cancer risk, improves your mood and memory, helps with weight loss and diabetes management, and improves your night sleep.

Critical Thinking Essay Topics

Have you already decided what your essay will be about? If not, feel free to use these essay topic examples as titles for your paper or as inspiration. Make sure to choose a theme that interests you personally:

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What are the reasons for racism in healthcare ?
Why is accepting your appearance important?
Concepts of critical thinking and logical reasoning .
Nature and spirit in Ralf Waldo Emerson ’s poetry.
How does technological development affect communication in the modern world?
Social media effect on adolescents.
Is the representation of children in popular fiction accurate?
Domestic violence and its consequences.
Why is mutual aid important in society?
How do stereotypes affect the way people think?
The concept of happiness in different cultures.
The purpose of environmental art .
Why do people have the need to be praised ?
How did antibiotics change medicine and its development?
Is there a way to combat inequality in sports ?
Is gun control an effective way of crime prevention?
How our understanding of love changes through time.
The use of social media by the older generation.
Graffiti as a form of modern art .
Negative health effects of high sugar consumption.
Why are reality TV shows so popular?
Why should we eat healthily ?
How effective and fair is the US judicial system ?
Reasons of Cirque du Soleil phenomenon.
How can police brutality be stopped?
Freedom of speech : does it exist?
The effects of vaccination misconceptions .
How to eliminate New Brunswick’s demographic deficit: action plan .
What makes a good movie ?
Critical analysis of your favorite book.
The connection between fashion and identity .
Taboo topics and how they are discussed in gothic literature .
Critical thinking essay on the problem of overpopulation .
Does our lifestyle affect our mental health ?
The role of self-esteem in preventing eating disorders in children .
Drug abuse among teenagers.
Rhetoric on assisted suicide .
Effects of violent video games on children’s mental health.
Analyze the effect stress has on the productivity of a team member.
Discuss the importance of the environmental studies .
Critical thinking and ethics of happy life.
The effects of human dignity on the promotion of justice.
Examine the ethics of advertising the tobacco industry.
Reasons and possible solutions of research misconduct.
Implication of parental deployment for children.
Cultural impact of superheroes on the US culture.
Examine the positive and negative impact of technology on modern society.
Critical thinking in literature: examples.
Analyze the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on economic transformation.
Benefits and drawbacks of mandatory vaccination .

Haven’t found a suitable essay idea? Try using our topic generator !

✅ How to Write a Critical Thinking Essay Step by Step

Now, let’s focus on planning and writing your critical thinking essay. In this section, you will find an essay outline, examples of thesis statements, and a brief overview of each essay part.

Critical Thinking Essay Outline

In a critical thinking essay, there are two main things to consider: a premise and a conclusion :

A premise is a statement in the argument that explains the reason or supports a conclusion.
A conclusion indicates what the argument is trying to prove. Each argument can have only one conclusion.

When it comes to structuring, a critical thinking essay is very similar to any other type of essay. Before you start writing it, make sure you know what to include in it. An outline is very helpful when it comes to structuring a paper.

The picture enumerates the main parts of a critical essay outline: introduction, main body, conclusion.

How to Start a Critical Essay Introduction

An introduction gives readers a general idea of an essay’s contents. When you work on the introduction, imagine that you are drawing a map for the reader. It not only marks the final destination but also explains the route.

An introduction usually has 4 functions:

It catches the reader’s attention;
It states the essay’s main argument;
It provides some general information about the topic;
It shows the importance of the issue in question.

Here are some strategies that can make the introduction writing easier:

Give an overview of the essay’s topic.
Express the main idea.
Define the main terms.
Outline the issues that you are going to explore or argue about.
Explain the methodology and why you used it.
Write a hook to attract the reader’s attention.

Critical Analysis Thesis Statement & Examples

A thesis statement is an integral part of every essay. It keeps the paper organized and guides both the reader and the writer. A good thesis:

expresses the conclusion or position on a topic;
justifies your position or opinion with reasoning;
conveys one idea;
serves as the essay’s map.

To have a clearer understanding of what a good thesis is, let’s have a look at these examples.

The statement on the left is too general and doesn’t provide any reasoning. The one on the right narrows down the group of people to office workers and specifies the benefits of exercising.

Critical Thinking Essay Body Paragraphs: How to Write

Body paragraphs are the part of the essay where you discuss all the ideas and arguments. In a critical thinking essay, arguments are especially important. When you develop them, make sure that they:

reflect the key theme;
are supported by the sources/citations/examples.

Using counter-arguments is also effective. It shows that you acknowledge different points of view and are not easily persuaded.

In addition to your arguments, it’s essential to present the evidence . Demonstrate your critical thinking skills by analyzing each source and stating whether the author’s position is valid.

To make your essay logically flow, you may use transitions such as:

Accordingly,
For instance,
On the contrary,
In conclusion,
Not only… but also,
Undoubtedly.

How to Write a Critical Thinking Conclusion

In a critical thinking essay, the notion of “conclusion” is tightly connected to the one used in logic. A logical conclusion is a statement that specifies the author’s point of view or what the essay argues about. Each argument can have only one logical conclusion.

Sometimes they can be confused with premises. Remember that premises serve as a support for the conclusion. Unlike the conclusion, there can be several premises in a single argument. You can learn more about these concepts from the article on a logical consequence by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Keeping this in mind, have a look at these tips for finishing your essay:

Briefly sum up the main points.
Provide a final thought on the issue.
Suggest some results or consequences.
Finish up with a call for action.

📑 Critical Thinking Essays Examples & Formatting Tips

Formatting is another crucial aspect of every formal paper. MLA and APA are two popular formats when it comes to academic writing. They share some similarities but overall are still two different styles. Here are critical essay format guidelines that you can use as a reference:

Finally, you’re welcome to check out a full critical essay sample in MLA format. Download the PDF file below:

Currently, the importance of critical thinking has grown rapidly because technological progress has led to expanded access to various content-making platforms: websites, online news agencies, and podcasts with, often, low-quality information. Fake news is used to achieve political and financial aims, targeting people with low news literacy. However, individuals can stop spreading fallacies by detecting false agendas with the help of a skeptical attitude.

✍️ Bonus Tips: Critical Thinking and Writing Exercises

Critical thinking is a process different from our regular thinking. When we think in everyday life, we do it automatically. However, when we’re thinking critically, we do it deliberately.

So how do we get better at this type of thinking and make it a habit? These useful tips will help you do it:

Ask basic questions. Sometimes, while we are doing research, the explanation becomes too complicated. To avoid it, always go back to your topic.
Question basic assumptions. When thinking through a problem, ask yourself whether your beliefs can be wrong. Keep an open mind while researching your question.
Think for yourself. Avoid getting carried away in the research and buying into other people’s opinions.
Reverse things. Sometimes it seems obvious that one thing causes another, but what if it’s the other way around?
Evaluate existing evidence. If you work with sources, it’s crucial to evaluate and question them.

Another way to improve your reasoning skills is to do critical thinking exercises. Here are some of them:

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Thinking errors – we all have them, but how are we managing them.

Your alarm doesn’t go off; you are late for work. You tell yourself, “this is going to be the worst day ever.” In your mind everything does go wrong that day.

“My husband is late again. I know he is having an affair. Why doesn’t he love me anymore?”

A friend tells you the dress you are wearing is beautiful and you look fantastic in it. You respond, “this old thing. I think I look fat in it.”

You are exhibiting a cognitive distortion, or what I like to call a “thinking error” – unreasonable, inaccurate and negative ways of thinking as a default protective factor of an underlying insecurity.

If these thinking errors become a pattern – a way of life – they begin to manifest habits that impact your ability to listen objectively to conversations in a real, meaningful way. This could have a profound effect on relationships.

The first way to begin combating thinking errors is to recognize them. Here are a few common ones:

Catastrophic, or end-of-the-world thinking: you always see yourself in the worst possible situation and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. You assume the worst is always going to happen.
Magnification and minimization: you exaggerate the importance of something that really is not that important; you blow the situation or incident out of proportion; you magnify your flaws and minimize your accomplishments.
Overgeneralization: after an unpleasant experience, you draw a conclusion that the same experience is destined to occur again. You tell yourself, “this always happens,” or “I’m never doing that again.” The key words are “always” and “never.” For example, you have a bad blind date and you conclude that all blind dates are bad.
Jumping to conclusions: you automatically predict the outcome and usually negatively. You assume you know what others are thinking. This also can be called fortune telling or mind reading; you base your conclusions on your emotional reaction, not facts.
Personalization: you blame yourself for a problem that is not entirely your fault, or you have no control over, or you blame everyone else, thinking they are going to blame you. This type of thinking error causes a person literally to view any interaction toward him/her as a personal attack.
The “I should have” factor: “I should have said,” or “I should have done,” you frequently find yourself saying this when you struggle with self-doubt and confidence in choices, decisions or abilities. These words are self-defeating and impact your self-esteem. In your mind, you’ve failed which further withers personal confidence.
Disqualification: this is the tendency to dismiss a positive occurrence as it relates to someone’s ability. Some people call this person’s thinking pattern “a hater.”
Emotional reasoning: our emotions – not the facts – dictate the outcome. We validate our feelings as facts.
All or nothing: you think in extremes, with nothing in between. You succeed or you fail. You are trying to achieve perfection always and when you don’t, you feel defeated. These extremes lack flexibility in the thought process.
Labeling: characterizing yourself or someone else based upon a single experience – usually a negative one – can lead to unhealthy misperceptions of yourself and others. Negative labels associated with one’s identity can foster deep personal resentment and judgement of others.

How do cognitive distortions develop? In most cases, cognitive distortions begin as a way to cope with a difficult life event. Often, we automatically think about the situation negatively, and these thoughts and emotions intensify over time and squelch positive thinking. Such thinking errors may lead to a pattern of unhealthy protective factors that insulate you from reality.

How do you flip thinking errors into positive thoughts? First, we have to be aware of those intrusive thoughts that are distorted. Recognize, acknowledge and act to redirect your thoughts. This won’t happen overnight as most people have established unhealthy thinking patterns and barriers for much of their lives. Some habits are hard to break. Therefore, it is important to work on developing new thinking habits to address life situations so you are better equipped cope in the moment of a crisis.

Here are a few ways to begin this process:

Think before you act. Respond before you react. Become a critical thinker.
Don’t let your feelings and emotions fuel your actions – try to stop knee jerk reactions.
Don’t let small mistakes or flaws overwhelm you.
Be willing to challenge yourself and your thoughts.
Focus on controlling your thought processes; don’t let them control you.
Focus on positive thoughts and try to push negative thinking out of your mind. Try to replace every negative thought with a positive one.
Welcome positive people into your life, not out of your life.
Stop comparing yourself to others.
Practice, and keep practicing.
Set realistic expectations for yourself.

We are willing to change our physical health and fitness – we join a gym, or we walk every day for physical health; we find the time to make those changes in our life. What about our mental fitness? We need to focus on that equally and often. Mental fitness should include the intentional effort to challenge a thought process when one becomes aware of a distorted perception not based on fact but in a feeling. Feelings create emotion, and sometimes irrational thinking and emotional distress.

If you feel you need some help overcoming your thinking errors, I recommend you see a therapist so you can begin the process of living outside your tunnel of distortions. The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health has a team of therapists ready to assist you. Simply call the center at 248.399.7447 or visit the center’s website at crsh.com to set up an appointment with a therapist.

Rita Clark is a licensed master social worker (LMSW) with more than 20 years of experience. She works with individuals, couples and families needing help with communication problems; conflict resolution and anger management issues; domestic violence; those experiencing depression, anxiety, mood disorders and co-dependence; and individuals suffering from grief, loss and trauma. Rita also specializes in men and women’s sexual health, sexual orientation and gender identity, teen violence and social adjustment issues, and kink, BDSM and fetishes.

To schedule an appointment with Rita, call The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health at 248.399.7447 or visit the center’s website at crsh.com, go to “Meet our therapists,” and set up an appointment with Rita.

About the Author: Rita Clark

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3 Common Thinking Errors and How to Overcome Them

Through byu-pathway and with the help of our savior, we can overcome these errors in our thinking.

However, the Savior promised that we would be able to “overcome” all error and suffering with His help. Student Caroline Asuron from Tanzania stated, “BYU-Pathway has helped me correct some of the thinking errors I used to practice. Now I feel that I am a better parent and spouse.” Through BYU-Pathway, and with the help of our Savior, we can overcome common thinking errors and find joy and peace.

Ever thought any of the following common thinking errors? Read on to find ways to overcome them.

1. “I don’t have what it takes to succeed.”

In life we will encounter many stumbling blocks . It may seem like things will never improve and that we don’t have the skills to succeed, especially in school. But believing that we can’t improve is called a fixed mindset — and having one narrows our perspective of ourselves and of the world. Instead of remaining as we are, we can use the opportunities and tools given through BYU-Pathway to improve our situation.

Maddy Worthington, a student from Utah, USA, shares her experience: “I had a really difficult time in high school. I did so poorly that they told me not even to think about college. Now I’m halfway through my bachelor’s degree in communication. I give credit to BYU-Pathway because that’s where I learned to tell myself ‘you are better than you think you are, you can do this.’””

If we do our best to be worthy, the Spirit will help us open our eyes and clear our minds to be able to see our divine potential. We will begin to see things more clearly instead of having our judgment blurred with self-doubt.

2. “I am right; you are wrong.”

When people do things differently than us, it can be natural to not understand why they do things the way they do. Truth: Good people generally do the things that feel right to them. Understanding this can help us to have more empathy and to be patient when others' perspectives don't align with our own.

The skills learned through BYU-Pathway can help students overcome these natural tendencies. For example, students have the opportunity to communicate their experiences through discussion boards and weekly gatherings, which helps them gain the ability to listen and communicate effectively. These opportunities help them maintain an open mind and to learn to respond rather than react.

Enrico Occiano from the Philippines shared this about his gathering: “With each other’s support, criticism, and encouragement, everyone has become a better person at the end of the semester. The brave sharing of experiences in front of the class and in group discussions greatly enriched everyone’s experiences.”

3. “I’ll do it tomorrow.”

BYU-Pathway offers a support system to help students achieve their goals. There are many people along the way to cheer you on.

How can I improve?

PathwayConnect students will remember a lesson from week 11 of PC 101: Life Skills. This lesson teaches a pattern to recognize and overcome thinking errors.

Stop: recognize a thinking error.
Think: recognize the source of the thinking error.
Act: do something to stop the thinking error (ex. Deep breaths, prayer, hymn).
Reflect: think about what went well and what you could improve next time.

Thinking Errors

PC 101 Life Skills | Gathering Agenda for Week 04

Gathering Purposes

Discuss the BYU-Pathway Worldwide devotional
Review the parts of a basic essay
Review the ten thinking errors from the course
Role play a few thinking errors and try to discern what initial stress or primary emotion lies at their origin

Preparation

For face-to-face Gatherings , arrive early to set up the room, prepare any visual aids, and greet students as they arrive.
For virtual Gatherings , start the meeting early, share your screen with a message welcoming them to the gathering and letting them know you’ll start soon.
When the Gathering Agenda asks that students meet in small groups, use Breakout Rooms
When the Gathering Agenda asks you to display things on “the board,” you can use the whiteboard .
This gathering has extensive small group work. Be sure to look at the agenda carefully well before the gathering begins so that you are ready to do this.

Welcome and Devotional - 10 minutes

Welcome everyone to the gathering. Assure the class that you are glad everyone is here and that everyone should feel welcome and accepted.

If you meet in person, you may choose to sing one or two verses of a hymn. If you meet virtually, the missionaries may choose to include a hymn in a way that works with the remote technology, but this is not required.
A volunteer will give an opening prayer
Students were asked to watch the BYU-Pathway Worldwide devotional this week, as contained in the course. They should have done this prior to the gathering. As a class, discuss the devotional using the discussion questions provided in the course.

Parts of a Basic Essay - 20 minutes

Show the sample essay at the bottom of this document. Together, answer the following questions:

How does the hook give context to the rest of the essay?
How does the thesis statement focus the essay? (Hint: how many thinking errors are mentioned in the thesis statement?)
What is the role of the topic sentence in the body paragraph?
What kind of supporting detail is given?
Where does the writer connect the supporting detail to the body paragraph’s controlling idea?
What is the purpose of a concluding paragraph?
BONUS: In a three paragraph essay like this, the thesis statement and topic sentence of the body paragraph will be very similar. Why?

Thinking Errors Review - 20 minutes

Write the following list on the board:

Victimization
Entitlement
Powerlessness
Justification
Scarcity Mentality
People Pleasing
Minimize/Catastrophize

This week, we have learned about thinking errors. The course has focused on these ten on the board. In small groups, read each story, and decide which story represents which thinking error and why. You may also notice more than one thinking error in each story. We will then come back to the whole group to hear your responses.

Read and Match in Small Groups

If virtual, consider providing each group with a copy or slide of each story and the list of thinking errors.

When groups share their responses, make sure to ask them why. Continue asking follow-up questions so that the discussion fully explores the thinking error(s) in question.

Here is an example of good follow-up questions: “Can you think of a time when you experienced a story like this one? What happened? How does that show a thinking error?”

Jazmin is trying to quit smoking. She has gone three weeks without smoking. Then one day, she has a relapse and smokes one cigarette. Afterwards, she is so disappointed in her relapse that she decides her efforts to quit smoking are not good enough. She smokes the rest of the pack before the day ends. Soon, Jazmin resumes smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.

Sheila feels exhausted. In addition to her duties with her own family of five, this week she has made a meal for two families in the ward, cared for the children of another mother who was sick, volunteered to serve at the local school on two afternoons, planned a Relief Society dinner, and baked bread for the five sisters she ministers to in the ward. She feels like she can’t ever say “No” when someone invites her to serve. If she does, she won’t be seen as a contributor to the ward’s success.

Pedro is driving his motorcycle on a busy road when a car suddenly swerves in front of him, forcing Pedro to quickly apply the brakes and nearly crash. The driver of the car realizes his error and signals an apology to Pedro with a hand wave and a “Sorry” mouthed in the rearview mirror. But Pedro quickly transforms his shock into anger and speeds up alongside the car. He fiercely pounds on the driver’s window while yelling his displeasure to the mortified driver. For the rest of the day, Pedro is angry with everyone he meets.

Alex teases his little sister by making fun of her. She bursts into tears and runs out of the room. When confronted by his mother, Alex replies, “It’s not a big deal! She’s so sensitive! Why can’t she learn to take a little joke?”

Alana tears open her mission call envelope with excitement. Quickly scanning the letter inside, her heart sinks when she realizes she will be serving in an area that she does not like. For the next week, Alana’s parents can’t seem to cheer her up. She is convinced that her life for the next 18 months will be utterly miserable.

Role Play - 10 minutes

Now, we need four volunteers to perform in two role play scenarios. During each scenario, try to identify the thinking errors the moment they occur. You may shout them out as soon as you suspect one of the actors is using a thinking error. After each role play scenario, discuss what stress seems to be causing the thinking errors. The volunteers will perform the scenario a few times so you can have time to listen and think.

In the first scenario, Jazmine and Sheila are cousins who live together. Their grandmother is visiting for dinner tomorrow night.

Role Play 1

Encourage the class to stop the performance each time they suspect a thinking error. If the performance proceeds with no interruptions from the class, do it again until some people begin recognizing the thinking errors.

Have two volunteers perform the following role play scenario:

Sheila: What should we make for dinner tomorrow night? Jazmin: I think we should make pasta. We NEVER have it. Sheila: That’s not true! We had it last week. Jazmin: Yes, but after I made it I could tell that you didn’t like it. Shelia: I ate it, didn’t I? Jazmin: You smiled and said you liked it, but you only ate two bites. If you don’t like something, just tell me! Sheila: Jazmin, I love your cooking. I’m just not sure Grandma will like pasta tomorrow. Jazmin: Why not? Sheila: Well, she is a picky eater, and she might prefer soup. Jazmin: Will you just tell me that you don’t like my pasta! Sheila: If you’re going to be mean to me, I don’t want to continue this conversation. I’m going to bed. I hope you’re not this rude to grandma tomorrow!

After identifying the thinking errors in this scenario, speculate what might be the stress that is causing them. Can you identify the thinking error when you are in the middle of a conversation like this?

Pedro and Alex have just concluded a group project where members of their group gave each other scores on their performance. Dominic, a shy group member, gave a score of C to Pedro, the group leader.

Role Play 2

Pedro: I can’t believe Dominic gave me a C on our group project! Alex: Well, you didn’t do much work. Pedro: I was the leader! Somebody had to be the leader. Besides, Dominic is just a poor kid who doesn’t know what it means to be at the top. Like a good worker, he followed my instructions, and we got the job done. Alex: Yes, we got the project done, but Dominic did a lot of the work. Pedro: Of course he did. That was his job. My job was to lead. Alex: So what do leaders actually do? Pedro: I made sure everyone knew what their instructions were. That wasn't so easy you know. Hey, why should I have to lead AND do the work?

Thank you for your participation in tonight’s gathering. Remember that thinking errors are a lapse of good judgment and they are fueled by stress. They keep us from seeing things as they really are. We hope that you will continue to identify the stress and the thinking errors in your life so that you can feel more peace. We will learn some specific ways to do this.

Testimony and Prayer

Bear a 30-90 second testimony of the power of God to help us deal with stress, and end with a prayer by invitation.

Sample Basic Essay

Prompt: What is one thing you can do to overcome a specific thinking error?

A = Hook B = Thesis Statement C = Topic Sentence D = Supporting Detail E= Concluding Sentence F = Concluding Paragraph

(A) People can make really bad decisions when they have a lot of stress. Imagine a runner who is competing in a race with other runners. In the first kilometer, he trips on a rock and falls. He is not injured very much, but he decides to quit the race because he is the only runner who tripped on the rock. This runner illustrates the thinking error called “giving up.” He gives up because he made a mistake and he figures he must not be good enough to run the race. (B) I struggle with giving up, and I can overcome this thinking error by having a growth mindset when I fail.

(C) If I have a growth mindset when I fail, I will learn from my mistakes instead of using them as an excuse to give up. (D) Carol Dweck, in her book Mindset, says that people with a fixed mindset see their failures as a “direct measure of their competence and worth.” When I fail, I stop trying because I feel worthless. However, Dweck says people with a growth mindset do not label themselves when they fail. Rather, they confront challenges and keep working on them because they want to grow in spite of the growing pains. I would rather learn than lose the opportunity to grow. (E) Having a growth mindset like this will help me use mistakes as a path to strength instead as a reason to give up.

(F) Giving up may seem like it keeps a person from the pain of failure, but it just makes things worse. If I have a growth mindset, I will be able to handle failure better because I will be motivated to learn from my mistakes.

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Closing the Gap Between Nature and the Self

Ada limón, the u.s. poet laureate, has a balm for your solastalgia..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

My name is Margaret Renkl. And I’m a contributing writer for “The New York Times” Opinion, where I often write about nature and the climate. April is National Poetry Month. And recently, I interviewed the poet laureate of the United States, Ada Limón. OK, now it is recording. [LAUGHS] Hi, Ada. Thank you for doing this, Ada.

Before she became the poet laureate, I have been reading her poems.

“Or their plumage glistening with salt air,

their gular sacs saying, You are magnificent. You are also magnificent.

It makes me want to give all my loves the adjectives they deserve—

You are Resplendent. You are Radiant. You are Sublime.”

I just think that she has this really beautiful way of bringing together the natural world, the very specific language of poetry, and her own heart.

Ada Limón has edited a new collection called “You Are Here, Poetry in the Natural World.” I just think it’s the perfect way to mark National Poetry Month in a time of climate change and great biodiversity loss.

And I think she makes a subtle but powerful case for how poetry can heal the Earth itself.

You said on the Library of Congress’s website that your aim, or at least one of your aims, with this anthology is to reimagine what nature poetry is during this particularly urgent moment on our planet. How do you think most people define nature poetry? And how do you?

I think that at least the nature poems that I read when I was growing up as a young poet was almost all by the Romantics. And oftentimes, it was a young gentleman walking to a mountain and having an epiphany.

And it also felt like there was a level in which there was a deep separation between nature and the self. And there was, for the lack of a better word, a colonizer mindset, I think, in some of those poems. And when I thought about nature poems, I thought, but we all have nature poems within us, every single one of us.

You don’t include one of your own poems in the book, but you are a nature poet. Can you talk a little bit— is it possible to articulate what it means for you, as a poet, to find the right words for an experience of the natural world or your thoughts about the natural world?

Yeah, I think there’s a level in which you can read a poem about a snake or a rat and suddenly feel differently about those animals. I still remember where I was when I read Lucille Clifton poem about a cockroach. And it made me change how I feel about insects, how we were all trying to survive on some level. And I think that poetry can’t do that for everything.

You may hate spiders, and a poem may not [LAUGHS] allow you to love them. But I do think that it can allow for a different kind of attention and relationship with the natural world by reading those poems.

Even if it’s just— it makes you see that another person doesn’t hate spiders.

Maybe you just revisit it.

Because there’s this immensely accurate and profoundly beautiful language assigned to it.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I absolutely agree.

I’m thinking about the urgency of this moment. And so much of the urgency, it’s not just the risks that we face or that our planet faces or the losses we’ve already incurred. It’s also this kind of terrifying feet-dragging that we’re seeing on the part of so many politicians and business leaders and industry. And yet some of these poems are just shot through with joy, with beauty, with love.

And I wondered if you had any advice about how to hold those two poles— the grief and the fear— but also the way the natural world has of rebounding or regenerating when we give it a chance. How do we hold both of those two things close?

I find that poetry is a place for that. It is a place for the complicated feeling. And it is an interesting time. You know, if you talk to a young, 10-year-old girl and ask her about the planet, she will express anxiety and worry. And that’s where we are. And I do think that we have to have hope. But we also have to be clear-eyed and have a place for grief. And those things need to work together.

And if we don’t grieve, we numb. And if we don’t have joy and we don’t have hope, we give up. And those are two of the most dangerous things we can do right now. And I also think that they are the easiest things. The easiest thing to do is give up. And I absolutely think that this is not the time to give up. And so I think poetry holds a place for both the grief as well as the hope, as well as the desire for significant change.

I love that answer. As you know, it is very close to my heart. But I think that your form is much more plastic. It’s easier to make that case in a poem because you don’t have to make a case. It’s not an op-ed. It’s a truth. It’s just a statement of truth.

Yeah. I always say that poetry, it’s not the place for answers. It’s the place for questions. And we need to keep asking the big questions, including, What are we going to do? and, How are we going to move together?

Poetry has always been in love with mystery, resistant to the thesis statement. Poetry doesn’t want to make an argument. Poetry wants to explore the uncertainty and sit in a kind of quiet resignation, maybe? Or maybe just pondering the things that, in our more prosaic life, we have this impulse to try to sort out and solve.

“It’s no secret that when I am trying to find myself, trying to ground myself, I stare at trees. I first see them as a green blur of soothing movement, something distant trembling in unison, but then I look at the leaves, remembering the names. From where I sit now, I can see the magnolia, the three cypress trees, the hackberry, and the old mulberry tree that drapes its tired branches over everything like it wants to give up but won’t.

Watching them makes me feel at once more human and less human. I become aware that I am in a body, yes, but it is a body connected to these trees, and we are breathing together. You might not know this, but poems are like trees in this way. They let us breathe together.”

April 26, 2024 • 6:10 Biden, Let the Protests of 1968 Be a Warning
April 25, 2024 • 8:58 Closing the Gap Between Nature and the Self
April 24, 2024 Biden’s Deep Miscalculation on Israel and Gaza
April 18, 2024 • 6:12 After Decades on the Court, I Want a Divided America to Know This
April 17, 2024 Have Faith in the Trump Trial Jurors
April 13, 2024 • 5:53 Harvard Is Bringing Back Standardized Tests. Other Schools Should, Too.
April 11, 2024 • 6:48 As Ramadan Ends, I Resist the Urge to Insulate
April 10, 2024 How Much of a Threat Is Kennedy to Biden?
April 8, 2024 • 8:21 Deepfake Porn Sites Used Her Image. She’s Fighting Back.
April 4, 2024 • 6:11 Corporate America: Employees Need Stability, Not Constant Change
April 3, 2024 • 4:45 Could Trump Financially Ruin the G.O.P.?
April 1, 2024 The War in Gaza and the Emerging Rift in American Jewish Life

By Margaret Renkl and Ada Limón

Produced by Kristina Samulewski

In a time of climate crisis, can poetry help us save the planet? In this audio essay, the contributing Opinion writer Margaret Renkl speaks with Ada Limón, the U.S. poet laureate, to understand how the written word can help the natural world.

(A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)

A two-tone photo illustration, in cream and dark green, of an open book laying in a field of flowers.

Thoughts? Email us at [email protected] .

This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Kristina Samulewski. It was edited by Alison Bruzek, Kaari Pitkin and Annie-Rose Strasser. Engineering by Isaac Jones and Efim Shapiro. Mixing and original music by Sonia Herrero. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

COMMENTS

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For this assignment I decided to watch and interpret the show "Undercover Boss" season 4 episode 2. Throughout this episode I focused on four thinking errors, these errors were; The fundamental attribution error, availability heuristic, cognitive dissonance and normative influence.
PC 101 W04 Gathering Agenda
Thinking Errors. PC 101 Life Skills | Gathering Agenda for Week 04. Gathering Purposes. Discuss the BYU-Pathway Worldwide devotional; Review the parts of a basic essay; Review the ten thinking errors from the course; Role play a few thinking errors and try to discern what initial stress or primary emotion lies at their origin; Preparation
Opinion
This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this ...

What are Thinking Errors in CBT (and how to manage them)

What are Thinking Errors?

How do Thinking Errors Affect Anxiety?

How do Thoughts Affect our Mental Health?

How does CBT work with Thinking Errors?

How Can We Identify Thinking Errors? A Practical Example

How to Correct Thinking Errors? Some Practical Tips:

1) Start a daily journal.

2) Identify and Label your Thinking Errors.

3) Reality Check!

What Are Common Thinking Errors?

How To Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions?

What is Social Media Anxiety? How to Identify and Cope With It

What is Love Bombing and Why It Can Be Dangerous

Thinking Errors: Understanding and Overcoming Cognitive Distortions

Decoding Thinking Errors

The Origin of Thinking Errors

The Impact of Thinking Errors

Common Types of Thinking Errors

All-or-Nothing Thinking

Overgeneralization

Catastrophizing

Strategies for Overcoming Thinking Errors

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Mindfulness and Meditation

Seeking Professional Help

Grouport Offers Online Group Therapy & Online DBT Skills Group

Join a Group Support Session for Anxiety

Investigating Group Therapy in Raleigh, North Carolina and the Positives of Online DBT Skills Groups

Sources of Errors in Thinking and How to Avoid Them

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Thinking errors, also known as cognitive distortions, are thoughts that do not match up with reality. These thoughts often have negative consequences. People who experience thinking errors are often not aware of it and perceive their thoughts as the truth.

Thinking errors are not logical and are unrealistic ways of thinking. They make you not perceive the situation as it actually is but in a distorted way. Thinking errors are still fairly easy to spot. Common thinking errors with examples :

Below are a few questions that can help you challenge thinking errors. This is easiest to do when you are not in an emotional period. Examine your thoughts and notice if any of them are distorted and/or negative. Ask yourself the following questions:

It's possible that it's more than just thinking errors, and that they are schemas developed from your childhood. If you want to learn more about this, you could read more about The 19 Schemas of Borderline Personality Disorder .

Holistic Ambassadors

Thinking Errors: 15 Definitions and Examples

All-or-nothing thinking or Black-White thinking

Overgeneralization

Exaggeration or blowing things up

Catastrophizing

Minimization

Downplaying the positive

Mental filter or Ignoring the good

Negative Labeling

Mind-reading

Fortune-telling

Emotional Reasoning

Should Statements or Unrealistic expectations

Personalization or Self-blame

Other-blaming

Magical Thinking

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