An athlete who blames herself for her team's loss, even though the whole team played badly, or a man who hasn't had a traffic accident in 20 years who still thinks he is a bad driver because of a dent he put in his car 21 years ago, is engaging in ________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

These individuals are engaging in cognitive distortions, specifically overgeneralization and personalization. Overgeneralization occurs when someone takes one experience and applies it to all situations (e.g. one bad game means someone is a bad athlete). Personalization occurs when someone takes responsibility for things that they have no control over (e.g. blaming oneself for a team loss when everyone played badly).

An Athlete Who Blames Herself for Her Team's Loss, Even