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As we all know, emotions often get in our way of thinking clearly. They push us toward thinking in ways that may trap us in a bad situation or make a bad situation worse. We often learn ways of thinking that don't work from the important people in our lives, our family, our friends. We may adopt these ways of thinking because we are told by people that we look to for direction that this is the right way to think about things. Understanding where these thinking patterns come from may help us to recognize and dispute them.
K.L. Hill (2001, pp 65-66) and his colleagues have described in some detail these thinking traps.
1. All or nothing thinking. This involves viewing events as either black or white. For example, if a situation is less than perfect, you consider it a total failure.
2. Over-generalization. This is a tendency to view a single temporary event as a general or permanent state of affairs. We often use the words "never or always" when that simply is not an accurate description of what has occurred.
3. Jumping to conclusions. We jump to making a judgment about a person or a situation when all the facts aren't in.
4. Exaggeration or magnification. This is the proverbial "making the mountain out of the molehill."
5. Minimization. We may discount or minimize either the positive or the negative elements of a situation. We may minimize our accomplishments or we may discount the potential risk that a situation may present.
6. Emotional reasoning. We assume the way we feel is the way things really are. We do not look at the situation objectively or take in to account that others may see it differently.
7. Confirmation bias. We may accept only data and information that support our current beliefs. We reject or find fault with any information that does not support our current beliefs.
Reference: Hill, K.L., (2001) Framework for sports psychologists: Enhancing sport performance. Champagne, IL. Human Kinetics.
