What is a common thinking error?

Asked by: Therese Pfannerstill  |  Last update: May 20, 2026
Score: 4.3/5 (23 votes)

Common thinking errors, or cognitive distortions, are irrational patterns that skew reality, like All-or-Nothing Thinking (black & white views), Overgeneralization (one bad event means never again), Mental Filtering (focusing only on negatives), Mind Reading, Fortune-Telling, Magnification/Minimization, Emotional Reasoning (feelings = facts), "Should" Statements, Labeling, and Personalization (blaming self/others). Recognizing these patterns helps improve mental well-being by fostering more balanced perspectives.

What is an example of a thinking error?

Have you found yourself thinking, “I always mess up” or I'll never get it right”? Maybe you've imagined the worst outcome, even when you're unsure. Or seen your child get frustrated after a small mistake. These are some examples of thinking errors.

What are the 10 thinking errors?

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.

  • All-or-Nothing Thinking. ...
  • Overgeneralizing. ...
  • Filtering Out the Positive. ...
  • Mind-Reading. ...
  • Catastrophizing. ...
  • Emotional Reasoning. ...
  • Labeling. ...
  • Fortune-telling.

Which type of thinking error is the most common type?

Some of the most common ones are listed below. 1. All-Or-Nothing Thinking: Also called “black-and-white” thinking. You see things in black- and-white, either/or categories, instead of on a continuum.

What is a common thinking error in seeking our goals?

a common thinking error in seeking our goals is: concentrating on less important goals first, leaving insufficient time to work on more important ones.

Cognitive Distortions: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques 18/30

34 related questions found

What are the four common errors in everyday reasoning?

  • Overgeneralization. Occurs when you unjustifiably conclude what is true for some cases is true for all cases. ...
  • Selective or inaccurate observation. see what you want to see. ...
  • Illogical Reasoning. the premature jumping to conclusions or arguing on the basis of invalid assumptions.
  • Resistance to change.

What are the 4 types of thinking styles?

We distinguish between four distinct types of thinking styles: Actively Open-minded Thinking, Close-Minded Thinking, Preference for Intuitive Thinking, and Preference for Effortful Thinking.

What are common thinking traps?

Thinking trap examples

  • Probability overestimation. Overestimating the probability that something negative will happen is a common thinking trap. ...
  • Catastrophizing. ...
  • All-or-nothing thinking. ...
  • 'Should' statements. ...
  • Personalization. ...
  • Mind-reading. ...
  • “It's not fair.” ...
  • Emotional reasoning.

What is a common thinking error that often leads to performance anxiety?

This perfectionistic all-or-nothing thinking is common in academic performance, career attainment, social performance, and physical appearance. Perfectionism can contribute to a number of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and dysregulated anger.

Do thinking errors affect relationships?

Cognitive distortions are unhelpful patterns of thinking that do not accurately represent what is happening. In the context of relationships, they can fuel unnecessary conflict, heighten emotional reactivity, and damage trust over time.

Can anxiety cause thinking issues?

Anxious patients suffer from debilitating intrusive thoughts and feelings as well as dysregulated attention mechanisms [e.g., distractibility, impaired concentration (Eysenck et al., 2007)]. These symptoms have been linked to attentional bias for threat.

What are the most common cognitive distortions?

What Are Common Types Of Cognitive Distortions?

  • All-Or-Nothing Thinking. ...
  • Overgeneralization. ...
  • Mental Filtering or Negative Filtering. ...
  • Discounting the Positive. ...
  • Mind Reading and Fortune Telling. ...
  • Magnification or Minimization. ...
  • Emotional Reasoning. ...
  • Should, Must, and Ought Statements.

Is mind reading a thinking error?

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), we refer to these errors in thinking as cognitive distortions. One of the most common—and misleading—cognitive distortions is called mind reading. This happens when you assume you know what someone else is thinking, despite having little or no real evidence.

What is an error of thinking called?

Thinking errors, also known as cognitive distortions, are thoughts and beliefs that are biased, irrational, and unhelpful. This is why they are called errors, as they give us an inaccurate view of ourselves, the situation we are in, or the world around us.

How to overcome thinking errors?

How can I improve?

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

What are the 9 automatic negative thoughts?

9 Common Automatic Negative Thoughts Patterns To Watch Out For

  • All-or-nothing ANTs. It's when you assume that something is completely good or bad. ...
  • Focusing on the negative ANTs. ...
  • Fortune-telling ANTs. ...
  • Blaming ANTs. ...
  • Less-than ANTs. ...
  • Mind reading ANTs. ...
  • Labeling ANTs. ...
  • If-Only and I'll-Be-Happy-When ANTs.

What are the 7 types of mental disorders?

Mental disorders

  • Key facts. Nearly 1 in 7 people in the world live with a mental disorder. ...
  • Anxiety disorders. ...
  • Depression. ...
  • Bipolar disorder. ...
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) ...
  • Schizophrenia. ...
  • Eating disorders. ...
  • Disruptive behaviour and dissocial disorders.

What are the 4 C's of critical thinking?

The 4C critical thinking model refers to four essential 21st-century skills: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, and Collaboration, which are vital for academic success, career readiness, and active citizenship. These skills empower individuals to analyze information, solve complex problems, work effectively in teams, and express ideas clearly in a rapidly changing world, moving beyond rote learning to knowledge creation.
 

What is the highest form of thinking?

Critical thinking is a higher-order thinking skill. Higher-order thinking skills go beyond basic observation of facts and memorization. They are what we are talking about when we want our students to be evaluative, creative and innovative.

What is level 4 thinking?

Level 4. Extended Thinking: Level 4 tasks require the most complex cognitive effort. Students synthesize information from multiple sources, often over an extended period of time, or transfer knowledge from one domain to solve problems in another.

How to identify common errors?

Common sentence errors

  1. Fragments.
  2. Comma splice.
  3. Run-on or fused sentences.
  4. Subject-verb agreement. Singular verbs. Plural verbs. Subject-verb agreement errors.
  5. Pronoun reference agreement.
  6. Shifts.
  7. Misplaced parts/modifier reference.
  8. Dangling modifiers.

What are the 4 great errors?

3 Nietzsche's Four Great Errors. Nietzsche's central targets in his four errors are religion and moralities. These errors are called (1) the error of confusing cause and effect, (2) the error of false causation, (3) the error of imaginary causes, and (4) the error of free will.

What errors can occur with controlled thinking?

17 Common Thinking Errors

  • All or Nothing Thinking. Right/Wrong Thinking; Black/White; Good/Bad; Absolute or Extreme Categories. ...
  • Magnification/Minimization. ...
  • Overgeneralization. ...
  • Discounting the Positive. ...
  • Negative Mental Filter. ...
  • Labeling. ...
  • Blame/Self Blame. ...
  • Heaven's Reward Fallacy.