Personalization

Personalization is an irrational way of thinking characterized by believing that what others say or do is somehow personally relevant. Those with this kind of unrealistic thought pattern perceive random comments as directed towards them. They also usually compare themselves to others which make them feel envious or threatened. For instance, a student thinks that the random examples in a teacher’s discussion are meaningfully directed towards her. Personalization is one of the most common types of cognitive distortions based on Aaron Beck’s cognitive theory. These different types were developed by David Burns, a student of Beck.