emotional reasoning
Feelings dictate conclusions
Emotional reasoning is a cognitive pattern in which feelings are treated as evidence for facts: I feel anxious, so something bad must be happening.
The term comes from cognitive behavioral therapy, where it describes a common thinking error—assuming that because you feel a certain way, reality must match that feeling.
Someone using emotional reasoning might conclude they are worthless because they feel worthless, or that a situation is hopeless because they feel hopeless about it.
Biased mental interpretation pattern
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
- overgeneralizationUnwarranted broad application
- personalizationTailoring to individual needs
- mind-readingPerceiving others' thoughts directly
black-and-white thinking · labeling · magnification · minimization · filtering · jumping to conclusions · all-or-nothing · fortune-telling
Contrary to valid reasoning
- misattributionCrediting the wrong source
- confirmation biasPreferring belief-supporting information
- wishful thinkingBelief shaped by desire
- rationalizationInventing acceptable motives afterward
Treatment restructuring harmful thought patterns
- psychotherapyTreatment through guided conversation
- counselingProfessional guidance for problems
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
- mental healthEmotional and cognitive well-being
anxiety · depression · reframing · self-awareness · psychoeducation · coping strategies
Preferring belief-supporting information
- selective attentionFiltering relevant from irrelevant
- self-fulfilling prophecyBelief causing its own realization
- negativity biasTendency to weight bad heavier
- optimism biasExpecting favorable outcomes despite odds
Sensed inner state
- moodPrevailing emotional condition
- sentimentFelt attitude or view
- gut reactionImmediate unthinking feeling
- passionIntense emotional drive
fervor · intensity · visceral response · felt sense · subjective experience
cognitive distortion
Biased mental interpretation pattern
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
- overgeneralizationUnwarranted broad application
- personalizationTailoring to individual needs
mind-reading · black-and-white thinking · labeling · magnification · minimization · filtering · jumping to conclusions · all-or-nothing · fortune-telling · self-blame
illogical
Contrary to valid reasoning
- misattributionCrediting the wrong source
- confirmation biasPreferring belief-supporting information
- wishful thinkingBelief shaped by desire
cognitive-behavioral therapy
Treatment restructuring harmful thought patterns
- psychotherapyTreatment through guided conversation
- counselingProfessional guidance for problems
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
mental health · anxiety · depression · reframing · self-awareness · psychoeducation · coping strategies
confirmation bias
Preferring belief-supporting information
- selective attentionFiltering relevant from irrelevant
- self-fulfilling prophecyBelief causing its own realization
- negativity biasTendency to weight bad heavier
feeling
Sensed inner state
- moodPrevailing emotional condition
- sentimentFelt attitude or view
- gut reactionImmediate unthinking feeling
passion · fervor · intensity · visceral response · felt sense · subjective experience
- cognitionthinking, thought, cognition, remembering, memory retrieval
- emotional thinkingintuition, gut feeling, wishful thinking, paranoia, panic response
- thought patternsrumination, overthinking, catastrophizing, overgeneralization, magical thinking
- thought trapscatastrophizing, overgeneralization, mind reading, fortune telling, personalization
- irrationalityirrationality, unreason, illogic, madness, insanity
- decisionschoice, make a decision, choices, yes, no
emotional reasoningrational thinking
Logic-based mental process
logical reasoning · scientific reasoning · analytical thinking · evidence-based reasoning · deductive reasoning
emotional reasoningcritical thinking
Objective evaluation of information
reality testing · logical analysis · metacognition · reflective thinking · Socratic questioning
reason, emotion, emotional, reasoning, emotions, unemotional, emotionally, emotive, unemotionally