Thought challenging — identifying and evaluating the automatic negative thoughts driving evolutionary psychology — is the core skill of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Identifying Automatic Negative Thoughts in Evolutionary Psychology
Automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) in evolutionary psychology are fast, involuntary, and often taken as facts. They drive evolutionary psychology while remaining unexamined.
Common ANT patterns in evolutionary psychology: catastrophizing, all-or-nothing thinking, mind-reading, personalization.
The Thought Challenging Process for Evolutionary Psychology
- Notice the thought: 'I just had the thought that...'
- Identify the distortion: What type of thinking error is this?
- Examine the evidence: What actually supports this thought? What contradicts it?
- Generate alternatives: What's a more accurate and helpful perspective?
- Rate the change: How do you feel now compared to before?
Building the Skill Over Time for Evolutionary Psychology
Initially, thought challenging requires deliberate effort. With practice, the mind automatically generates balanced perspectives when evolutionary psychology-related thoughts arise.