Negative Thinking: Cognitive Distortions and Fluency
A list of the most common cognitive distortions is presented below based on the seminal work by Burns (1980) with examples related to fluency disorders. Other models of cognitive distortions may differ from the list provided below.
SLPs can ask clients to challenge the validity of the assertions and think of alternative and more positive and realistic ways of thinking. This approach can facilitate successful referral to psychology.
| Cognitive Distortion | Definition | Fluency Example |
|---|---|---|
| All-or-Nothing Thinking/Polarized Thinking | Thinking in “black or white” - There is no middle ground | “I will never be fluent.” |
| Always Being Right | Needing to be right about themselves and other people. | “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I know that technique won’t help me.” |
| Disqualifying the Positive | Regarding positive events as a fluke. | “Yes, that presentation went well, but it won’t happen again.” |
| Emotional Reasoning | Drawing conclusions that are based exclusively on feelings | “I feel so foolish when I stutter, therefore everyone believes I’m foolish.” |
| Fallacy of Change | Expecting that others will change if they exert enough pressure. | “If you didn’t look at me that way, I’d never stutter.” |
| Fallacy of Control | Thinking that they are either a) a victim of fate (externally controlled) or b) responsible for the feelings of others (internally controlled). | I make others uncomfortable when I stutter |
| Fallacy of Fairness | Feeling upset or hopeless when experiences don’t seem fair. | “Why do I have to participate in class when I will just stutter?” |
| Fallacy of “Heaven’s Reward” | Feeling that there will be an ultimate reward for sacrifice, | “If I work hard to hide my stuttering, no one will ever make fun of me.” |
| Jumping to Conclusions - Mind Reading | Guessing what someone else is thinking. | “They are not interested in what I have to say.” |
| Jumping to Conclusions - Fortune Telling. | Thinking that a negative consequence is inevitable. | “I won't be able to make friends in college because of how I talk” |
| Labeling and Mislabeling | Defining oneself with a negative label based on a narrow set of information (e.g., a single factor) | “I am stupid because I can’t talk right” |
| Magnification (Catastrophizing) or Minimization | Expecting that something bad is going to happen. Can also involve minimizing the significance of an event or someone else’s behavior. | “No one is ever going to listen to me because of my stuttering.” |
| Mental Filtering | Amplifying negative details and filtering out positives | “My block during the meeting was so awful that I can’t remember anything else that happened.” |
| Overgeneralization | Forming a conclusion based on a single piece of evidence. | “I was anxious about saying my name on the first day of school. I am going to be anxious about talking in school all the time.” |
| Personalization | Believing that they are responsible for events that are not within their control. | “It’s all my fault that the meeting ran on so long.” |
| “Should” Statements | Feeling as if there are rules about how they and others should behave. | “I should always be able to talk fluently on the phone and when I read.” |
References
Burns, D. D. (1980). Feeling good: The new mood therapy. Morrow.
