Question
What is overgeneralization CBT?
Quick Answer
When a trigger fires in the wrong context you need to add qualifying conditions.
Example: You built a trigger: 'When someone pushes back on my idea, pause and ask a clarifying question.' Good trigger. Except now it fires in every conversation where someone expresses any mild difference of opinion — including casual lunch chats and brainstorming sessions where pushback is the point. The trigger is correct in form but wrong in context. You need a guard clause: 'When someone pushes back on my idea in a decision-making meeting where I have a stake in the outcome, pause and ask a clarifying question.' The qualifying condition narrows the trigger to the contexts where it actually serves you.
This concept is part of Trigger Design in the How to Think curriculum.
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