CBT Cognitive Distortions & Thought Patterns 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which technique is most commonly used in CBT to challenge automatic negative thoughts by asking guided questions?
- Free association
- Systematic desensitization
- Socratic questioning (Correct answer)
- Empty chair technique
Correct answer: Socratic questioning
Socratic questioning guides clients to examine the logic, evidence, and alternatives related to their automatic negative thoughts rather than accepting them at face value.
Question 2: In Ellis's rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) ABC model, the 'B' component stands for:
- Behavior
- Belief (Correct answer)
- Balance
- Behavioral consequence
Correct answer: Belief
In the ABC model, 'B' stands for Belief — the individual's cognitive interpretation of the activating event — which drives the emotional and behavioral consequence.
Question 3: The cognitive distortion of 'personalization' is best described as:
- Sharing personal experiences to build rapport
- Making therapy too client-centered
- Taking excessive personal responsibility for external events outside one's control (Correct answer)
- Focusing exclusively on personal strengths
Correct answer: Taking excessive personal responsibility for external events outside one's control
Personalization involves incorrectly attributing external negative events to oneself, assuming excessive blame or responsibility without sufficient cause.
Question 4: 'Fortune telling' as a cognitive distortion is most accurately described as:
- Using intuition as a clinical tool
- Interpreting ambiguous events as inherently negative
- Believing others can predict your outcomes
- Predicting negative outcomes as if they were established facts (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Predicting negative outcomes as if they were established facts
Fortune telling involves anticipating that things will turn out badly and treating this prediction as an already-confirmed fact, which reinforces anxiety and avoidance.
Question 5: When a belief therapist helps a client systematically examine evidence for and against a belief, this process is called:
- Cognitive restructuring (Correct answer)
- Behavioral activation
- Thought suppression
- Systematic desensitization
Correct answer: Cognitive restructuring
Cognitive restructuring is the process of identifying distorted thoughts, evaluating evidence, and replacing them with more balanced, realistic alternatives.
Question 6: The cognitive distortion of 'should statements' most commonly produces which emotional outcome in clients?
- Greater motivation and goal clarity
- Feelings of guilt, shame, or resentment (Correct answer)
- Increased self-efficacy
- Enhanced self-awareness
Correct answer: Feelings of guilt, shame, or resentment
Should statements create rigid rules about how oneself or others must behave, leading to guilt when directed inward and resentment or frustration when directed outward.
Question 7: The cognitive distortion of 'magnification' is best characterized by:
- Seeing both positives and negatives with equal weight
- Downplaying the importance of personal flaws
- Exaggerating the significance of problems, mistakes, or imperfections (Correct answer)
- Using a strengths-based lens to build self-esteem
Correct answer: Exaggerating the significance of problems, mistakes, or imperfections
Magnification, sometimes called 'catastrophizing' when applied to future events, involves blowing the importance or impact of errors and flaws out of proportion.
CBT Cognitive Distortions & Thought Patterns 2
Which technique is most commonly used in CBT to challenge automatic negative thoughts by asking guided questions?