MagicalthinkingThe belief thatour choiceswill influenceunrelatedsituations. “I need tolook cool infront of myclassmates.” anexample ofa shouldstatement"I wasawkwardyesterday. I'malways soawkward!"example ofemotionalreasoning &overgeneralizationPersonalizationThe belief thatone isresponsible forevents outsidetheir owncontrol.All ornothingthinkingThinking inextremes. It’seither all good orit’s all bad. Usingwords like“always” & “never”Magnification Exaggeratingtheimportance ofevents.MindreadingInterpreting thethoughts andbeliefs of otherswithoutadequateevidence.Catastrophizing Seeing onlythe worstpossibleoutcomes ofa situation.OvergeneralizationMaking broadinterpretationsfrom a singleor few events."I bet he saidthat just tomake memad."an example ofpersonalization"I bet shehatesme."anexampleof mindreadingFree!"I'm a goodperson, so badthings shouldn'thappen to me."anexampleof magicalthinking"what I didwas nobig deal."an exampleminimizationShouldstatements The belief thatthings ought tobe a certain way.Pressure we puton ourselves. "Allpeoplewho____are____."an example ofovergeneralizationFortune-telling The expectationthat a situation willturn out badlywithout adequateevidence. “ This isthe worstmistakeever.”an exampleofmagnificationDisqualifyingthe positive Recognizing onlythe negativeaspects of thesituation whileignoring thepositive."My dad isn'tanswering thephone. I bethe's been inan accident."an example ofcatastrophizingEmotionalreasoning Theassumption thatemotions reflectthe way thingsreally are.“ I just knowI’m not goingto make theteam.”anexampleof fortunetelling“My mom isalways upset.She would befine if I didmore to helpher.”an example ofpersonalizationMinimizationDownplayingtheimportanceof events.“I feel like abad friend,therefore Imust be abad friend.” anexample ofemotionalreasoning.MagicalthinkingThe belief thatour choiceswill influenceunrelatedsituations. “I need tolook cool infront of myclassmates.” anexample ofa shouldstatement"I wasawkwardyesterday. I'malways soawkward!"example ofemotionalreasoning &overgeneralizationPersonalizationThe belief thatone isresponsible forevents outsidetheir owncontrol.All ornothingthinkingThinking inextremes. It’seither all good orit’s all bad. Usingwords like“always” & “never”Magnification Exaggeratingtheimportance ofevents.MindreadingInterpreting thethoughts andbeliefs of otherswithoutadequateevidence.Catastrophizing Seeing onlythe worstpossibleoutcomes ofa situation.OvergeneralizationMaking broadinterpretationsfrom a singleor few events."I bet he saidthat just tomake memad."an example ofpersonalization"I bet shehatesme."anexampleof mindreadingFree!"I'm a goodperson, so badthings shouldn'thappen to me."anexampleof magicalthinking"what I didwas nobig deal."an exampleminimizationShouldstatements The belief thatthings ought tobe a certain way.Pressure we puton ourselves. "Allpeoplewho____are____."an example ofovergeneralizationFortune-telling The expectationthat a situation willturn out badlywithout adequateevidence. “ This isthe worstmistakeever.”an exampleofmagnificationDisqualifyingthe positive Recognizing onlythe negativeaspects of thesituation whileignoring thepositive."My dad isn'tanswering thephone. I bethe's been inan accident."an example ofcatastrophizingEmotionalreasoning Theassumption thatemotions reflectthe way thingsreally are.“ I just knowI’m not goingto make theteam.”anexampleof fortunetelling“My mom isalways upset.She would befine if I didmore to helpher.”an example ofpersonalizationMinimizationDownplayingtheimportanceof events.“I feel like abad friend,therefore Imust be abad friend.” anexample ofemotionalreasoning.

12 Common Thinking Errors - Call List

(Print) Use this randomly generated list as your call list when playing the game. There is no need to say the BINGO column name. Place some kind of mark (like an X, a checkmark, a dot, tally mark, etc) on each cell as you announce it, to keep track. You can also cut out each item, place them in a bag and pull words from the bag.


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  1. The belief that our choices will influence unrelated situations.
    Magical thinking
  2. an example of a should statement
    “I need to look cool in front of my classmates.”
  3. example of emotional reasoning & overgeneralization
    "I was awkward yesterday. I'm always so awkward!"
  4. The belief that one is responsible for events outside their own control.
    Personalization
  5. Thinking in extremes. It’s either all good or it’s all bad. Using words like “always” & “never”
    All or nothing thinking
  6. Exaggerating the importance of events.
    Magnification
  7. Interpreting the thoughts and beliefs of others without adequate evidence.
    Mind reading
  8. Seeing only the worst possible outcomes of a situation.
    Catastrophizing
  9. Making broad interpretations from a single or few events.
    Overgeneralization
  10. an example of personalization
    "I bet he said that just to make me mad."
  11. an example of mind reading
    "I bet she hates me."
  12. Free!
  13. an example of magical thinking
    "I'm a good person, so bad things shouldn't happen to me."
  14. an example minimization
    "what I did was no big deal."
  15. The belief that things ought to be a certain way. Pressure we put on ourselves.
    Should statements
  16. an example of overgeneralization
    "All people who____ are____."
  17. The expectation that a situation will turn out badly without adequate evidence.
    Fortune-telling
  18. an example of magnification
    “ This is the worst mistake ever.”
  19. Recognizing only the negative aspects of the situation while ignoring the positive.
    Disqualifying the positive
  20. an example of catastrophizing
    "My dad isn't answering the phone. I bet he's been in an accident."
  21. The assumption that emotions reflect the way things really are.
    Emotional reasoning
  22. an example of fortune telling
    “ I just know I’m not going to make the team.”
  23. an example of personalization
    “My mom is always upset. She would be fine if I did more to help her.”
  24. Downplaying the importance of events.
    Minimization
  25. an example of emotional reasoning.
    “I feel like a bad friend, therefore I must be a bad friend.”