A young child has thoughts about hating her younger brother and wishing he would die. She becomes very anxious about these thoughts because she has developed the idea that if anything really happened to him, it would be her fault. This pattern of thinking is called .

Question

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Thought-action fusion is the pattern of thinking where individuals believe that having a negative thought increases the likelihood of that negative event happening in reality. The young child in this scenario is experiencing thought-action fusion as she believes that her negative thoughts about her brother could actually cause harm to him, making her feel responsible for his safety.

A Young Child Has Thoughts About Hating Her Younger Brother