These are known as cognitive biases, also called cognitive distortions: patterns of thinking that influence how we interpret a situation and that can sometimes fuel anxiety, self-doubt, guilt, or feelings of failure.
Identifying these cognitive biases doesn’t mean you have to “think positively” at all costs. Rather, it’s about learning to recognize certain automatic thoughts, taking a step back, and considering a more nuanced interpretation of situations.
Here are 12 common cognitive biases, along with concrete examples and questions to ask yourself to better recognize them and gain some perspective.
1. “All-or-nothing” thinking, or dichotomous thinking
All-or-nothing thinking, also known as dichotomous thinking, involves perceiving a situation in terms of two opposing categories: success or failure, competence or incompetence, good or bad. Nuances and middle ground disappear.
When I was starting my career as a psychologist after graduation, I often told myself, “If I don’t have everything under control, I’m not legitimate.”
For example, you take a new job, and after a few weeks, you make a mistake on a case. You might immediately think to yourself: “I’m really not cut out for this job. I thought I was competent, but in reality, I don’t know how to do anything.” Yet you’ve also received several pieces of positive feedback, and in and of itself, the mistake is relatively minor when you’re just starting a new job—and even later on. Your interpretation leaves no room for learning or growth.
In this situation, the question you should ask yourself is this: Are there nuances between “success” and “failure”?
2. Dramatization
Dramatization involves anticipating the worst-case scenario and assigning it a high probability, without giving sufficient consideration to other possible outcomes.
Before a job interview, you might think: “I’m going to lose my nerve. They’ll see that I’m a failure. I won’t get the job. I’ll have to stay in my current job, and I’ll never find anything better.” A mere possibility gradually becomes a certainty, then seems to lead to a whole series of catastrophic consequences.
The question to ask yourself: What is actually the most likely scenario—not just the worst-case scenario?
3. Disregarding the Positive
This bias involves downplaying or dismissing positive experiences as if they didn’t really count. You might receive compliments, complete a task successfully, or earn recognition, but you systematically dismiss these as proof of nothing.
You present a professional project to your team. Your colleagues congratulate you, and your manager highlights the quality of your work. But you tell yourself: “They’re just saying that to be nice. I was just lucky.” When something goes well, you find an explanation that allows you to dismiss it. On the other hand, even the slightest criticism becomes proof of your inadequacy.
The question to ask yourself: If I take my difficulties seriously, why not give my successes the same value?
4. Emotional Reasoning
Emotional reasoning involves believing that something is true simply because you feel it strongly. Emotion then becomes a kind of proof: “I feel incapable, so I am incapable.”
After a meeting, you feel intense anxiety. You think: “I felt completely out of my depth. Everyone must have noticed that I had nothing to contribute.” Yet no one made any negative comments, and several colleagues reacted positively to your contributions. Your emotion is real, but it isn’t necessarily proof of external reality.
The question to ask yourself: What do the facts say, regardless of how I’m feeling right now?
5. Labeling
Labeling involves reducing a person to a single, often negative, characteristic. Instead of thinking, “I made a mistake,” you think, “I’m worthless.” Instead of saying, “That person behaved in a hurtful way,” you conclude, “They’re a toxic person.”
After forgetting a loved one’s birthday, you tell yourself, “I’m a bad friend.” A single event thus becomes a sweeping definition of your identity. The label erases the complexity of who you are and of the situation.
The question to ask yourself: Does this event describe who I am, or is it just something I did or experienced?
6. Magnification and Minimization
This bias involves amplifying the negative aspects and downplaying the positive aspects when evaluating a situation.
You’re preparing for an important presentation. You receive ten positive comments and one remark about a piece of data that wasn’t precise enough. On your way home, you think: “My presentation was terrible. I completely messed up.” For several hours, you dwell on that comment and forget the other feedback. The problem isn’t necessarily the presence of criticism, but the disproportionate weight it carries in your overall assessment.
The question to ask yourself: How much weight do I give to the positive and negative elements in my assessment of the situation?
7. The Mental Filter
The mental filter involves selecting a negative detail and focusing your attention on it to the point of losing sight of the bigger picture.
After an evening with friends, you find yourself dwelling on an awkward remark you made during dinner. You tell yourself, “I looked ridiculous.” You no longer think about the pleasant conversations, the shared laughter, or the moments of connection. A single detail comes to represent your entire evening.
The question to ask yourself: If I take a step back, what is the overall picture of the situation?
8. Mind Reading
Mind reading is the belief that you know what others are thinking, feeling, or judging about you, without having enough evidence to support it.
You run into a coworker in the hallway. They don’t say hello to you. You immediately think: “They’re mad at me. They must think I’m incompetent.” Yet there are several possible explanations: your coworker was preoccupied, distracted, in a hurry, or simply didn’t see you.
The question to ask yourself: What do I really know about what this person is thinking?
9. Overgeneralization
Overgeneralization involves drawing a broad conclusion based on a single event or a limited number of experiences. Words like “always,” “never,” “no one,” or “everyone” can often signal this type of reasoning.
After a breakup, you might think: “I always end up with people who make me suffer. I’ll never meet someone it will work out with.” A painful experience then becomes a prediction about all your future relationships.
The question to ask yourself: Is this really “always” the case? What examples might qualify your conclusion?
10. Personalization
Personalization involves taking on excessive responsibility for a situation, especially when multiple factors are at play. It can lead you to feel responsible for other people’s reactions, emotions, or behaviors.
After an argument with your partner, you think: “He/she has been in a bad mood since this morning. It’s surely because I handled the situation poorly yesterday.” You immediately attribute the other person’s emotional state to your own behavior, without considering other events that might explain his or her mood.
The question to ask yourself: How much of this situation is actually up to me? And what is attributable to others or to the context?
11. “I must” and “I should”
“I must,” “I have to,” and “I should” reflect rigid personal rules that define what we’re supposed to do, feel, or achieve. These demands can become a major source of pressure when they leave no room for reality, our limitations, or the unexpected.
You’ve just had a child. You keep telling yourself: “I should be able to handle everything. I should be a fulfilled mother/father. I shouldn’t be this tired.” Every difficulty then becomes a sign that you’re not meeting your own expectations.
The question to ask yourself: Is this an absolute rule, or an expectation I could relax?
12. Tunnel Vision
Tunnel vision involves perceiving only part of reality—usually the negative aspects—while overlooking other available information. It’s similar to a mental filter, but can extend to a person, a relationship, or an entire situation.
For several months now, you’ve been dissatisfied with your job. You only see the constraints: meetings, the workload, and disagreements with certain colleagues. When asked what you still enjoy, you reply, “Nothing.” Yet you still appreciate certain aspects of your work and maintain good relationships with several people. These elements exist, but they are no longer visible in the way you usually view the situation.
The question to ask yourself: What am I no longer seeing because my attention is entirely focused on what’s wrong?
Why is it helpful to identify these cognitive biases?
These examples show that a cognitive bias can take many different forms. It can lead us to anticipate the worst, to generalize based on a single experience, to imagine what others think of us, or even to downplay what’s going well. Learning to recognize these automatic thought patterns makes it easier to distinguish facts from our interpretations of them.
We all resort to these ways of thinking at times. Having cognitive biases does not necessarily mean that a psychological disorder is present. They can become more problematic when they are frequent, rigid, difficult to question, or when they contribute to psychological distress.Learning to recognize your cognitive biases helps create a space between a situation, your interpretation of it, the emotions it triggers, and your reaction. This can make it easier to distinguish facts from your automatic thoughts.
Here is an example of a bias chain:
- The situation: “My manager makes a comment about my work.”
- The interpretation: “I’m bad at my job.”
- Emotions: shame, anxiety.
- Reaction: the urge to avoid my manager or quit my job.
Therapeutic work with your therapist may involve examining this chain and exploring other possible interpretations, without denying the emotion you’re feeling.
How can you step back from cognitive biases and automatic thoughts?
When a negative thought arises, asking yourself a few questions can help you step back from it:
- What are the objective facts?
- Is this an interpretation or a certainty?
- Is there another possible explanation?
- Am I thinking in terms of “always” or “never”?
- Am I downplaying what’s working?
- What would I say to someone I love if they thought the same thing?
- How could I phrase my thought in a more nuanced way?
The goal isn’t to systematically replace a negative thought with a positive one. Rather, it’s about regaining a more flexible, nuanced perspective that’s closer to the full picture.
When should you see a psychologist?
When negative thoughts become overwhelming, repetitive, or difficult to challenge, they can contribute to feelings of anxiety, low self-worth, exhaustion, or a loss of self-confidence.
Working with a psychologist can help you better understand these automatic thoughts and the cognitive biases that may accompany them, identify what triggers them, and gradually develop a more nuanced way of relating to yourself, others, and events.
Recognizing a cognitive bias isn’t a way of blaming yourself for “thinking wrongly.” It’s first and foremost an invitation to observe how your mind works with more perspective and kindness.All-or-nothing thinking, dramatization, mind reading, taking things personally, or overgeneralization: these cognitive biases can influence our perception of events and become particularly burdensome when they recur.Learning to identify them is the first step toward better understanding why certain thoughts impose themselves on us, distinguishing more clearly between facts and our interpretations, and gradually regaining a more nuanced view of situations.