Thinking takes place at different levels. On the surface — arbitrary thoughts, realized and controlled. Below, within us are automatic thoughts, imposed stereotypes of thinking. And deep down are the basic schemas and cognitive beliefs that live in us, as a rule, unconsciously.
Aaron Beck, the founder of cognitive psychology, conditionally divided the entire process of human thinking into three levels. First, he singled out arbitrary thoughts: the most superficial, easily realized and controlled. Second, automatic thoughts. As a rule, these are stereotypes imposed on us in the process of growing up and upbringing. And thirdly, basic schemas and cognitive beliefs, that is, the deep level of thinking that occurs in the area of the unconscious, which is the most difficult to change. A person perceives all incoming information at one of these levels (or at all at once), analyzes, draws conclusions and builds his behavior on their basis.
Beck called unconstructive thoughts cognitive errors. These include, for example, distorted conclusions that clearly do not reflect reality, as well as exaggeration or understatement of the significance of certain events, personalization (when a person ascribes to himself the significance of events to which, by and large, he has nothing to do) and overgeneralization (on based on one small failure, a person makes a global conclusion for life).
All these examples of irrational thinking are the field of activity for a cognitive psychotherapist. Using various techniques, he instills in the client the ability to perceive information adequately, constructively and expediently. As a rule, this is one or another version of positive thinking.