What does the cognitive distortion of personalization refer to?

Personalization is a type of cognitive distortion where individuals attribute personal responsibility, including the resulting praise or blame, to events over which they have no control. This often leads to individuals feeling responsible for the outcomes of unrelated events, which can result in anxiety, guilt, or a skewed self-perception. It means that an individual might believe that they are the cause of problems or situations that have little to do with them, leading to an unhealthy pattern of thinking.

In this context, assigning blame for unrelated events directly captures the essence of personalization. Individuals engaging in this distortion might think someone else's bad mood is their fault or might feel responsible for an overall team failure, even if external factors contributed significantly.

The other options do reference cognitive distortions but do not define personalization accurately. Generalizing based on specific events refers to a different cognitive distortion known as overgeneralization. Seeing things in black and white relates to all-or-nothing thinking, while exaggerating the negative aspects pertains to catastrophizing. Each of these represents distinct cognitive patterns, but they do not encapsulate the specific nature of personalization. Thus, the definition of personalization is best captured by the concept of assigning blame for unrelated events.