<p>A general term is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_distortion" rel="nofollow noreferrer">cognitive distortion</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>... an exaggerated or irrational thought pattern involved in the onset
or perpetuation of psychopathological states, such as depression and
anxiety.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Not sure if there are more emotion-specific terms.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-17T20:52:55.403Z
2022-05-17T20:52:55.403Z
Arnon Weinberg
<p>I think 'cognitive distortion' is a good one, like @Arnon Weinberg mentioned.</p>
<p>You will probably also find some useful papers with ''anxiety''+''cognitive bias''.
E.g. this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(97)01092-9" rel="nofollow noreferrer">paper</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>The existence of cognitive biases in anxiety is now well established,
and we summarize evidence demonstrating attentional vigilance to cues
associated with threat, pessimistic interpretation of ambiguous items
and an increased perception of the likelihood of occurrence of
negative events.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bias you can further split up in ''attentional bias'' or ''memory bias''.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-18T17:33:09.177Z
2022-05-20T14:08:20.130Z
2022-05-20T14:08:20.130Z
Dilara
<p>For a paper I'm writing, I want to make a point about how anxiety changes the way people think - i.e., the same person in the same situation might think differently depending on whether or not they are anxious.</p>
<p>The problem is that I'm not sure what search term to use to find papers that may be relevant, so I was just wondering if anyone else knows.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-14T00:22:37.333Z
@ArnonWeinberg Ah great, thanks! I eventually stumbled upon executive functions - "Impulse control, Emotional Control, Flexible Thinking, Working Memory, Self-Monitoring, Planning and Prioritizing, Task Initiation, and Organization" but I think cognitive distortions makes more sense in this context.
Jim stoke
<emotion><terminology><abnormal-psychology><clinical-psychology><anxiety>
Term for how anxiety makes people think abnormally?
Jim stoke
# Term for how anxiety makes people think abnormally?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-05-13)

For a paper I'm writing, I want to make a point about how anxiety changes the way people think - i.e., the same person in the same situation might think differently depending on whether or not they are anxious.

The problem is that I'm not sure what search term to use to find papers that may be relevant, so I was just wondering if anyone else knows.

**Tags:** emotion, terminology, abnormal-psychology, clinical-psychology, anxiety

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: @ArnonWeinberg Ah great, thanks! I eventually stumbled upon executive functions - "Impulse control, Emotional Control, Flexible Thinking, Working Memory, Self-Monitoring, Planning and Prioritizing, Task Initiation, and Organization" but I think cognitive distortions makes more sense in this context.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-05-17. Score: 3

A general term is [cognitive distortion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_distortion):

> ... an exaggerated or irrational thought pattern involved in the onset
> or perpetuation of psychopathological states, such as depression and
> anxiety.

Not sure if there are more emotion-specific terms.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2022-05-18. Score: 2

I think 'cognitive distortion' is a good one, like @username_1 mentioned.

You will probably also find some useful papers with ''anxiety''+''cognitive bias''.
E.g. this [paper](https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(97)01092-9)

> The existence of cognitive biases in anxiety is now well established,
> and we summarize evidence demonstrating attentional vigilance to cues
> associated with threat, pessimistic interpretation of ambiguous items
> and an increased perception of the likelihood of occurrence of
> negative events.

Bias you can further split up in ''attentional bias'' or ''memory bias''.


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