Cognitive Distortions and Irrational Beliefs
Introduction
This reflective journal aims to assess and to gauge what I have learned so far about cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs. In this paper I will discuss the things that I have learned and the things that have tremendous impact on me as a student. I will also aim to apply the theories and principles that I have learned throughout the semester in my personal life and in observing people around me. This paper is a reflective journal that aims to help me learn and to effectively apply the things I learned in my everyday life.
First of all, let me discuss the works of two of the most notable proponents cognitive therapy and then I will give a brief information about cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs.
Theorists
In our class discussions we tackled the works of the theorists that have laid the foundations for the study of cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs. I have consulted other sources in order to gain more knowledge about these theorists.
Ellis
According to rational-emotive therapy (RET) proposed by Dryden and Ellis (1988), the cause of psychological disturbance can be attributed to the tendency of humans to make devout, absolutistic evaluation of the perceived events in their lives. These evaluations lead to rigid beliefs characterized by ‘I should’, ‘I must’, and ‘I have to”. These beliefs often obstruct individuals in the pursuit of their life goals. According to Ellis, individuals can generally accept shortcomings and weaknesses. This acceptance can be achieved if individuals resist viewing their shortcomings and weaknesses more awful than it really is.
For example, considering my self as having average intelligence and attractiveness is considered normal. While viewing one’s self as average in intelligence and attractiveness is considered normal, the problem will arise if an individual have a distorted and irrational belief that ‘being average in intelligence and attractiveness make me a complete disgrace’.
Beck
According to Beck’s cognitive model of emotional disorders, maladaptive and inaccurate cognitions lead to the development and maintenance of upsetting emotions. The notion of schema is central to Beck’s cognitive model, as it constitutes the underlying cognitive structures that organize a person’s experience and that can form the basis for the individual instances of bias or distortion and can be called core beliefs (DeRubeis and Beck 1988). The maladaptive schemata gives rise to different cognitive distortions (Schwebel and Fine 1994).
As an example, there are people that I know who draw a general rule or conclusion based on one or more isolated incidents. When a non-depressed individual receives a single negative comment, he will take it constructively and will aim to improve. A depressed individual on the other hand, may overgeneralize, overlooking all the positive comment on his work. He will focus on the single negative comment and will think of it as the general fact.
Cognitive Distortions
Cognitive distortions are fallacious reasoning that plays a crucial role in the emergence of certain metal conditions. Traditionally, the cognitive distortions are represented as one of the twelve following irrational modes of reasoning: Emotional reasoning; Overgeneralization; Jumping to conclusions; Dichotomous reasoning; Should statements; Fortune telling or mind reading; Selective abstraction; Disqualifying the positive; Maximization and minimization; Catastrophism; Personalization and Labeling (Beck 1963, 1964; Ellis 1962).
Irrational Beliefs
According to Dr. Albert Ellis (1961), people have innate irrational beliefs that cause emotional disturbances. According to Ellis, emotion has three parts. These are:
- A real or imaginary future
- An interpretations of the event, our beliefs about it
- The resulting feeling or feelings.
Morris and Kanitz (1975) classify the irrational beliefs proposed by Ellis into two categories. The first category is irrational beliefs that lead to panic, self-condemnation, and self-doubt. The other is the irrational beliefs that lead to anger, moralizing, and low frustration tolerance.
Irrational Beliefs: First Category
1. The idea that it is of utmost importance for a person to be loved and approved by every significant person in his community
2. The idea that one should be thoroughly competent, adequate, and achieving in all possible respects if one is to consider his self worthwhile
3. The idea that human happiness is externally caused and that people have little or no ability to control their sorrows and disturbances
4. The idea that one’s past history is an important determinant of one’s present behavior
5. The idea that there is invariably a right, precise, and perfect solution to human problems and that it is catastrophic if this perfect solution is not found
6. The idea that if something is or may be dangerous or fearsome, one should be terribly concerned about it and should keep dwelling on the possibility of its occurrence (cited in Gateley 1999)
Irrational Beliefs: Second Category
1. The idea that certain people are bad and must be punished
2. The idea that it is catastrophic if things do not go according to one’s expectations
3. The idea that certain life difficulties and responsibilities are better to be avoided
4. The idea that one should become quite upset over other people’s problems and disturbances (cited in Gateley 1999)
Perhaps one of the important thing that I learned about cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs is that these beliefs have negative effects. These distorted perceptions and beliefs have the capacity to make one’s life miserable and that distorted and irrational beliefs affect every aspect of one’s life. Cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs are often subtle. We can go on living without being aware of these, but they have tremendous impacts on our personality, behaviors, attitudes, the way we interact with other people and the way we view the world. Through this paper I would like to share the things that I have learned from class, from reading other materials, from personal reflections and from observing other people. I can say that this reflective journal does not only present the things I have learned in a written form, but also help readers to gain knowledge and information about cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs. With the knowledge I posses I aim to make personal changes and to encourage my readers to do the same.
I would like to start my journal with Aaron Beck’s theory of depression and how this theory has laid the foundation for cognitive distortions. Beck’s cognitive model of depression suggested that depressed individuals systematically distort their thinking in a negative manner to conform to their negative views of themselves, the world, and the future. According to the model, negative thinking plays a crucial role in the various affective, motivational, and behavioral manifestations of depression.
I learned from this topic that depression and cognitive distortions coincide. I believe that cognitive distortions contribute to the worsening of depression. Another important thing that I learned is the elements of the cognitive model. Being knowledgeable of these elements is important for me as it will help me in understanding the occurrence of cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs.
Cognitive Content
The cognitive model proposes the existence of structures called cognitive schemas. Within cognitive schemas reside various cognitions. These cognitions all relate to a central theme or meaning involving the self, the world or the future (Beck 1996). I learned that the there are different categories and levels of cognitions. The core belief is the deepest or most central category of cognition. It represents the theme or meaning of the cognitive schema. Residing within cognitive schemas are less central cognitions that are derivatives of core beliefs. These cognitions are referred to as intermediate beliefs (conditional assumptions, implicit rules, and central goals). The most situational specific and least central cognitions derived from core beliefs are automatic thoughts (Beck et al 1990).
Examples
1. Core Belief – “The world is a dangerous place”
2. Intermediate Beliefs
- Conditional Assumptions – “If I am brilliant, people might accept me”
- Implicit Rules – “I should never get angry”
- Central Goals – “Having a lot of money is extremely important”
3. Automatic Thoughts – “She thinks she is too good for me”
Core Beliefs
According to the Cognitive Triad proposed by Beck and his colleagues (Beck et al 1979; Beck et al 1990) people’s core beliefs involve the cognitive triad which are identified as beliefs about self, the world, and the future. Some of the problematic core beliefs about the cognitive triads are presented below.
1. Examples of Core Beliefs about Self
- I am helpless.
- I am incompetent.
- I cannot manage on my own.
- I deserve special treatment.
2. Examples of Core Beliefs about the World
- Danger lurks around the corner.
- People are to be used.
- People will hurt me.
3. Examples of Core Beliefs about the Future
- My life is hopeless.
- I will always be miserable.
- Things will never get better.
This has been an eye opener for me. Now I understand that negative thinking can be attributed to a person’s core beliefs. Now I understand that core beliefs have impact on people’s lives. For example, I tend to view my self as helpless and dependent on the people around me. This core belief has tremendous negative impact on my self-esteem and self-confidence. Another core belief that I have is that people will use other people just to get what they like. This core belief has negative effect own how I socialize with others and how I treat other people. These core beliefs are sometimes hidden and sometimes I do not recognize them. However, because of the things that I have learned from the course, I was able to conduct a self analysis and to reflect on my behavior. Although, I consider these core beliefs as normal and I believe that there are other people who think the same as I do, I believe that these negative core beliefs have a large impact on me and the people around me. I believe that these negative core beliefs must be changed in order for me to be more able to build string relationship and for me to have a more positive view of myself. Now I understand that in order to correct cognitive distortions it is important to make positive and “realistic” core beliefs.
Intermediate Beliefs
Intermediate beliefs are beliefs that are intermediate between core beliefs and automatic thoughts in terms of their effects on information processing and emotions. The intermediate beliefs that reside in cognitive schemas are closely related to each other because they share common themes and meanings. As is the case for core beliefs, individuals are often not aware of their intermediate beliefs. Intermediate beliefs include conditional assumptions, central goals, and implicit rules (Needleman 1999).
1. Conditional Assumptions
Conditional assumptions take the form of if-then statements. When conditional assumptions exist, they emerge directly from a core belief.
2. Central Goals
Central goals are goals that people use to guide their behavior in order to accomplish what is most important to them. Although goals frequently are beneficial, when take to an extreme, central goals can result in problems for the person and others.
One example of problematic core goals is the case of my mother’s friend. According to my mother, she has a friend that considered tranquility and safety to be the most important goals of her life. As a result, she avoided all situations, behaviors, thoughts and feelings that she thought are upsetting. She led a very constricted life. I realized through the discussions in class and through the analysis of other people’s lives and behaviors that sometimes our life goals can potentially restrict us. Sometimes our life goals are distorted and they have negative impacts on us and the people around us.
3. Implicit Rules
Implicit rules are beliefs people have regarding how they and/or others ‘should’, ‘must’ and ‘ought to’ think, feel, or behave. People may benefit from implicit rules, if they consider rules as simply guidelines. However, when rules are rigid and unconditional, they appear to contribute to distress and problematic behavior (Ellis and Dryden 1987).
One example of a rigid and unconditional rule that I often observe in people is ‘I must always excel in everything I do’. It could be more beneficial if this rule is used as a guideline rather than a rigid rule. When this rule is applied rigidly, as I observed, people tend to be highly competitive and sometimes they are willing to do things that can harm other people.
Automatic Thoughts
Automatic thoughts represent the least durable and least central cognitions. Automatic thoughts are thoughts or images that may enter awareness. They influence how a person feels and behaves in a particular situation.
Cognitive Distortions and Depression
Now I will turn my attention to the relationship between cognitive distortions and depression. From the class, I have learned about Beck’s Cognitive Therapy of Depression (Beck et al 1979). According to my research on the subject, Beck observed in 1960s that clinically depressed patients have negative views of the self, the world and the future (Beck 1963, 1964). Beck observed that clinically depressed patients display cognitive distortions. According to Beck, cognitive distortions serve as a proximal cause for depression. Beck proposed that these beliefs and thought processes occur due to the activation of maladaptive schema. Schema are tacit beliefs and memory structures that serve to organize the processing of information. In his study, Beck compared the schema of non-depressed individuals with clinically depressed individuals. It has been found out that non-depressed individuals’ have schema that are flexible and provide the individual with a sense of personal worth, efficacy and control. The schema of depressed individuals, on the other hand, are rigid and are characterized by perceptions of personal inadequacy and loss, the belief that others are unreliable or uncaring, that the future is miserable, and that they lack control over important outcomes in their life (Reinecke and Davidson 2002).
According to Beck’s (1976) theory, depression occurs when life events involving loss occur and reactive negative cognitive schemas formed early in childhood because of early loss experiences. These negative schemas entail negative assumptions and when activated, such schemas underpin the occurrence of negative automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions. Negative schemas have their roots in loss experiences in early childhood including:
- Loss of parents or family members through death, illness or separation
- Loss of positive parental care through parental rejection, criticism, severe punishment, overprotection, neglect or abuse
- Loss of personal health
- Loss or lack of positive peer relationships through bullying or exclusion from peer group
- Expectation of loss such as expecting a parent to die of chronic illness
According to Beck, two negative schemas affect depression. These schemas contain negative attitudes about the self, the world and the future. The first negative schema relates to interpersonal relationships and is called by Beck ‘sociotropy’. The second negative schema relates to personal achievement and is called by Beck ‘autonomy’. Individuals who have negative self-schemas where sociotropy is the central organizing theme define themselves negatively if they perceive themselves to be failing in maintaining positive relationships. Thus their core assumption about the self may be If I am not liked by everybody, then I am worthless. Individuals who have negative self-schemas where autonomy is the central organizing theme define themselves negatively if they perceive themselves to be failing in achieving work-related goals. Thus their core assumption about the self may be If I am not a success and in control, then I am worthless. When faced with life stresses, individuals vulnerable to depression because of early loss experience and the related development of negative self-schemas become prone to interpreting ambiguous situations in negative mood-depressing ways. The various logical errors that they make are referred to by Beck as cognitive distortions and these include the following:
1. All or nothing thinking – thinking in extreme categorical terms
- If I am not successful then I am a failure
2. Selective abstraction – selectively focusing on a small aspect of a situation and drawing conclusions from this
- The mistake that I did yesterday made all my efforts worthless. Everything is now wrong.
3. Overgeneralization – generalizing from one instance to all possible instances
- He did not say hello so he must hate me
4. Magnification – exaggerating the significance of an event
- My professor said that he did not like my work that must mean that he hates me
5. Personalization – attributing negative feelings of others to the self
- Our professor was upset when he entered our classroom, so I must have done something wrong
6. Emotional reasoning – taking feelings as facts
- I feel like the future is black so the future will be miserable (Carr 2001)
This is a reflective journal of the things that I have learned from class, from consulting other reading materials, from self-reflection and from observing others. Of significant interest to me is the connection of cognitive distortions and depression. All throughout the paper, I have put considerable emphasis on how cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs affect the behaviors and attitudes of individuals and how depressed people are affected by cognitive distortions in viewing self, the world and the future. The information that I have presented here are not the totality of all the things that I have learned. In this reflective journal I chose to discuss the topics that have tremendous impact on me rather than make a summary of the topics discussed in class. These topics that I found interesting and informative allowed me to view my self in a different light and allowed me to understand other people better. I believe that I still have so many things to learn and this reflective journal give me a clear perspective of what I need to know and what I must study on.
References
Beck A. T. (1963). Thinking and Depression: Idiosyncratic Content and Cognitive Distortions. Archives of General Psychiatry 9, 324-333.
Beck A. T. (1964). Thinking and Depression: Theory and Therapy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 10, 561-571.
Beck A. T. (1996). Beyond belief: A Theory of Personality and Psychopathology Modes. In P. M. Salkovskis (Ed.), Frontiers of Cognitive Therapy (pp. 1-25). New York: Guilford.
Beck A. T., Rush A. J., Shaw B. F., and Emery G. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford.
Beck A. T., Steer R. A., Epstein N., and Brown G. (1990). The Beck Self-Concept Test. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2, 191-197.
Carr, A. (2001). Abnormal Psychology. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
DeRubeis R. J. and Beck A. T. (1988). Cognitive Therapy. In K. S. Dobson (Ed.), Handbook of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies (pp. 273-306). New York: Guilford.
Dryden W. and Ellis A. (1988). Rational-emotive Therapy. In K. S. Dobson (Ed.), Handbook of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies (pp. 214-272). New York: Guilford.
Ellis, A. (1961). A Guide to Rational Living in an Irrational WorM. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Ellis A. (1962). Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy. New York: Lyle Stuart.
Ellis A. and Dryden W. (1987). The Practice of Rational Emotive Therapy. New York: Springer.
Morris, K. T. and H. M. K. (1975). Rational-Emotive Therapy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Needleman, L. D. (1999). Cognitive Case Conceptualization: A Guidebook for Practitioners. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.
Reinecke, M. A. and Davison, M. R. (2002). Comparative Treatments of Depression: Entering the Zen Garden. In M. A. Reinecke and M. R. Davison (Eds.). Comparative Treatments of Depression (pp. 453-263). New York: Springer.
Schwebel, A. I. and Fine, M. A. (1994). nderstanding and Helping Families: A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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