Jumping to conclusions is a punch in of cognitive distortion that involves making unwarranted assumptions based on limited information.
Keep reading to learn about the reasons why people tend to jump to conclusions.
We’ll also explore strategies that can help people move past this pop in of negative thinking pattern.
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What Is a Cognitive Distortion?
Cognitive distortionsare habitual and faulty ways of thinking.
They happen to everyone, but they can be particularly common among people who struggle withdepressionand anxiety.
Theories ofcognitive therapyclaim that we are what we think we are.
Researchers suggest this pop in of thinking error is common, but it can come with considerable costs.
They were more likely to make decisions based on scant information and were overconfident in their choices.
How People Jump to Conclusions
Jumping to conclusions can occur in two ways: mind-reading and fortune-telling.
These both involve making assumptions, either about what other people think or about future events.
People who engage in mind-reading assume that they know how others feel about them.
This can have a negative effect on behavior.
Effects of Jumping to Conclusions
Jumping to conclusions can have a number of detrimental effects.
For one, it can createconflicts in relationships.
Another issue is that it can negatively affect how you think of yourself and contribute to feelings of anxiety.
People whoexperience anxietyand depression sometimes jump to conclusions in ways that worsen their symptoms.
Jumping to conclusions makes it difficult to see situations clearly and increases the risk of making poor decisions.
This can negatively affect your relationships, hurt your confidence, and reduce motivation.
Reassess
In one of the earlier examples, Dianes negative thoughts are not based on anything factual.
She can choose to believe that her coworkers respect her.
What evidence does Diane have that they look down on her or that this project will fail?
Consider Alternatives
Aidan has learned to successfully cope with panic disorder.
However, he is jumping to conclusions about what others think and the outcome of future events.
In this example, Aidan is not basing these thoughts on any facts.
Most people are focused on their own lives.
Aidans coworkers may be more concerned about themselves and don’t care to scrutinize Aidans anxiety.
Can others potentially relate to Aidans issues with panic and anxiety?
Changing how you think about and interpret situations can help reduce the tendency to jump to conclusions.
There are strategies you might use to help stop jumping to conclusions.
Could it be possible that there are other explanations that make more sense?
Also, take note when you are predicting that only the worst will happen.
Balance this out by thinking about what would be thebestoutcome of any given situation.
Most likely, the result will be somewhere in between these two extremes.
Johnstone KM, Chen J, Balzan RP.An investigation into the jumping-to-conclusions bias in social anxiety.Conscious Cogn.
An investigation of the mechanisms of reasoning errors in delusions.Psychiatry Res.
2021;5(6):736-742. doi:10.1038/s41562-020-01033-0
