An intense, paralyzing fear of a specific object, person, situation, or thing in the absence of any real danger is a _______

Although Mallory has won a full scholarship to a prestigious art school, various art awards, and the admiration of everyone who has seen her artwork, she has decided not to study art because she has convinced herself that she is just not good enough to compete with "really talented" people. Mallory's thinking best exemplifies which cognitive distortion?

a) Minimization b) Overgeneralization c) Personalization d) Selective abstraction

Randall believes that aliens are currently living deep under the ocean. When looking for information about this on the Internet, he ignores any sites that are skeptical of his belief and only visits sites that support his belief. This is an ­example of

a. functional fixedness. b. confirmation bias. c. creativity bias. d. confirmation fixedness.