Cognitive Distortion / Cognitive Bias
All-Or-Nothing Thinking
Information handouts
Anger Thought Challenging Record
Worksheets
Anxiety - Self-Monitoring Record
Worksheets
Arbitrary Inference
Information handouts
Before I Blame Myself And Feel Guilty
Exercises
Behavioral Experiment
Worksheets
Behavioral Experiment (Portrait Format)
Worksheets
Belief Driven Formulation
Worksheets
Belief-O-Meter (CYP)
Worksheets
Catastrophizing
Information handouts
Catching Your Thoughts (CYP)
Worksheets
CBT Appraisal Model
Worksheets
CBT Thought Record Portrait
Worksheets
Challenging Your Negative Thinking (Archived)
Archived
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Anorexia Nervosa (Fairburn, Cooper, Shafran, 2003)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD: Veale, 2004)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Bulimia Nervosa (Fairburn, Cooper, Shafran, 2003)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Health Anxiety (Salkovskis, Warwick, Deale, 2003)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Insomnia (Harvey, 2002)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Low Self-Esteem (Fennell, 1997)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Panic (Clark, 1986)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD: Ehlers & Clark, 2000)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Social Phobia (Clark, Wells, 1995)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Tinnitus (McKenna, Handscombe, Hoare, Hall, 2014)
Information handouts
Compassionate Thought Challenging Record
Worksheets
Core Belief Magnet Metaphor
Information handouts
Court Trial Thought Challenging Record (Archived)
Archived
Decatastrophizing
Exercises
Depression - Self-Monitoring Record
Worksheets
Disqualifying Others
Information handouts
Disqualifying The Positive
Information handouts
Dysfunctional Thought Record
Worksheets
Emotional Reasoning
Information handouts
Evaluating Unhelpful Automatic Thoughts
Guides
Fact Or Opinion
Exercises
Fortune Telling
Information handouts
Health Anxiety Thought Record
Worksheets
Hindsight Bias
Information handouts
Hindsight Bias (Archived)
Archived
How Trauma Can Affect You (CYP)
Information handouts
Identifying The Meaning Of Body Sensations
Worksheets
Jumping To Conclusions
Information handouts
Low Self-Esteem Formulation
Worksheets
Managing Social Anxiety: Therapist Guide
Treatments That Work®
Mastery Of Your Anxiety And Panic: Therapist Guide
Treatments That Work®
Mastery Of Your Anxiety And Panic: Workbook
Treatments That Work®
Meaning In Tinnitus
Exercises
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Formulation
Worksheets
Overcoming Depression: Therapist Guide
Treatments That Work®
Overcoming Depression: Workbook
Treatments That Work®
Overcoming Eating Disorders: Therapist Guide
Treatments That Work®
Overcoming Insomnia: Therapist Guide
Treatments That Work®
Overcoming Insomnia: Workbook
Treatments That Work®
Overcoming Your Eating Disorder: Workbook
Treatments That Work®
Panic - Self-Monitoring Record
Worksheets
Panic Attack Record Form
Worksheets
Positive Belief Record
Worksheets
Process Focused Case Formulation
Worksheets
Prolonged Exposure Therapy For PTSD: Therapist Guide
Treatments That Work®
Prompts For Challenging Negative Thinking
Exercises
PTSD Formulation
Worksheets
Schema Formulation
Worksheets
Schema Metaphors
Information handouts
Self-Monitoring Record (Universal)
Worksheets
Simple Thought Challenging Record
Worksheets
Simple Thought Record
Worksheets
Social Anxiety Formulation
Worksheets
Thought Distortion Monitoring Record
Worksheets
Thought Record (Considered Response)
Worksheets
Thought Record (Evidence For And Against)
Worksheets
Thoughts And Depression
Information handouts
Thoughts In CBT (Psychology Tools For Living Well)
Books & Chapters
Understanding Depression
Guides
Understanding Panic
Guides
Unhelpful Thinking Styles
Information handouts
What Is Memory?
Information handouts
What Keeps Depression Going?
Information handouts
What Keeps Low Self-Esteem Going?
Information handouts
Recommended Reading
- Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford
- Burns, D. D. (1980. Feeling good. New York: Avon Books
What Is Cognitive Bias?
Disorders That May Be Maintained by Cognitive Bias
Cognitive biases, including biased interpretations, attributions, expectancies, or heuristics, are thought to contribute to the maintenance of:
- panic disorder (interpretation bias, attribution bias, expectancy bias, emotional reasoning);
- specific phobia (expectancy bias, emotional reasoning);
- social phobia (interpretation bias, attribution bias, expectancy bias);
- obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) (attribution bias, expectancy bias, emotional reasoning);
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (interpretation bias, attribution bias, expectancy bias, emotional reasoning);
- generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) (interpretation bias, attribution bias, expectancy bias, emotional reasoning);
- pain disorder (interpretation bias, expectancy bias);
- health anxiety (interpretation bias, attribution bias, expectancy bias);
- eating disorders (interpretation bias, attribution bias, expectancy bias);
- depression (interpretation bias, attribution bias, expectancy bias);
- bipolar disorder (attribution bias);
- psychosis (interpretation bias, attribution bias, expectancy bias);
- substance misuse (interpretation bias, attribution bias, expectancy bias).
Helpful Questions for Assessing Cognitive Bias
Some helpful questions for assessing cognitive bias:
- What do you think will happen if you do X or Y?
- What predictions are you making in this situation?
- What sort of evidence are you using to make this judgment or prediction?
- What do you expect will happen here?
- How do you know what will happen?
Treatment Approaches That Target Cognitive Bias
A wide range of treatment interventions are designed to target cognitive bias. These can include:
- data gathering exercises that aim to overcome attentional biases;
- thought-challenging exercises that aim to identify and then overcome cognitive distortions;
- exposure and behavioral experiments that target expectancy biases.
References
- Beck, A. T. (1963). Thinking and depression: I. Idiosyncratic content and cognitive distortions. Archives of General Psychiatry, 9(4), 324–333.
- Harvey, A. G., Watkins, E., Mansell, W., & Shafran, R. (2004). Cognitive behaviouralprocesses across psychological disorders: A transdiagnostic approach to research and treatment. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.