Mind reading cognitive distortion — MRCPsych Paper A MCQ

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ModeratePsychologyMind reading cognitive distortionMRCPsych Paper A

During CBT, a patient with depression says, “My friend has not replied to my message because she thinks I am worthless.” The patient has not asked the friend and has no other evidence about what the friend thinks. Which cognitive distortion is most specifically illustrated?

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Correct answer: D — Mind reading

The correct answer is D, mind reading. This cognitive distortion involves assuming that one knows another person's unexpressed thoughts, commonly interpreting them as negative, despite inadequate evidence. Here, the patient infers that the friend's non-response means the friend considers them worthless. Selective abstraction involves focusing disproportionately on a negative detail while ignoring other information. Emotional reasoning treats a feeling as proof of reality, such as “I feel worthless, therefore I am worthless.” Overgeneralisation extends a single event into a broad recurring rule. Fortune-telling is an unsupported prediction about what will happen in the future rather than an assumption about another person's present thoughts.

Reference: Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust, “Unhelpful Thinking Styles – Mind Reading”, updated 10 March 2026. https://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/patient-information-guides/unhelpful-thinking-styles