Chapters 5 & 6 Thought distortions & Interventions

Thought Distortions 1. Absolute Thinking 2. Overgeneralization 3. Mind Reading 4. NEGATIVEpositive 5. Crystal Ball Thinking 6. Feeling = Being 7. Shoulding

Absolute Thinking  “ All or nothing” mentality  “Only smart people can do math.”  “If I don’t do well on this homework, I won’t pass my class, finish my degree, or ever get a job.”

Overgeneralization  Making broad conclusions, often negative, about the future based on one event.  “My whole life is ruined because of this problem.”  “My high school math teacher was awful. Math teachers are insensitive.”

Mind Reading  Imagining you know what someone else is thinking or feeling causing inaccurate conclusions and inappropriate behaviors.  “The teacher doesn’t want to help me, so I won’t ask.”  “Other students may think I’m stupid when I ask questions, so I will stop.”

NEGATIVEpositive  Filtering out and minimizing the positive and focusing on the negative.  “My glass is half empty.”  “I got an A on the first two tests. Now I got a C. I knew I couldn’t do math.”

Crystal Ball Thinking  This type of thinking predicts the future and colors it negatively.  Your life is a process of change.  Predicting the future ignores the day-to-day changes.  “If I don’t understand this concept quickly, I never will.”

Feeling = Being  Equates the feelings you have about yourself with who you truly are as a person.  “I feel anxious about tests, so I think that I will perform poorly on tests.”  “I feel bad, or dumb, or ugly, so I think I’m bad, or dumb, or ugly.”

Shoulding  Implies a negative, parent-like order.  Uses words like “should”, “must”, “have to” or “ought”  “I shouldn’t make mistakes.”  Change to words like “choose to”, “want to” or “will”

Intervention Strategies for Negative Math Thoughts

Examine the evidence  What is the evidence that your negative thought is really true?  What is the evidence that the thought is false?  Are you overreacting?

Get a different perspective  Tell yourself what you would tell a close friend who has these thoughts.  Tell yourself what a good friend would tell you about your thoughts.  Talk to your teacher, your tutor, and other students in the class to see how realistic your thought is.

Do something differently  Behave in a new way to get a different result.  For example, recognize that you may not understand the class lectures because you don’t ask enough questions or take enough notes or get enough sleep to stay alert.

Note the number  Count and record the number of times that you think negative math thoughts.  Recognition is one of the first keys to bringing them to consciousness and changing them.

Identify the “Worst Case Scenario”  Ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that can happen in this situation?”  Sometimes the fear is worse than the consequence.

Change the wording  Restate the negative thoughts in a way that is neutral or actually positive.  Add the words “right now”, “for now”, or “yet”.  For example, change “I don’t understand.” to “I don’t understand yet.”

Act “as if”  Act as if you have whatever trait you lack or as if you are whatever you’d like to be.  If you want to be a successful student, consider how good students act. What behaviors do they exhibit?

Affirm Your Best  Look back and notice how far you’ve come and enjoy your progress.  My questions are in the process of being answered.  The more I practice, the more connections in my brain happen.

Assignment: Pages 51-54: Situation 3, page 50 Math Mysteries #1-4