catastrophize

vb. to exaggerate the negative consequences of events or decisions. People are said to be catastrophizing when they think that the worst possible outcome will occur from a particular action or in a particular situation or when they feel as if they are in the midst of a catastrophe in situations that may be serious and upsetting but are not necessarily disastrous. The tendency to catastrophize can unnecessarily increase levels of anxiety and lead to maladaptive behavior. The verb, as well as its synonym awfulize, was coined by Albert Ellis. —catastrophizing n.

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Psychology term of the day

February 11th 2025

cognitive complexity

the state or quality of a thought process that involves numerous constructs, with many interrelationships among them. Such processing is often experienced as difficult or effortful. See also conceptual complexity.