Concreteness
Categories
Examples
Responses
Deletions
"I am going"
I'm scared"
She is the best
"Going where?"
"Of what?"
Best compared with
whom?"
Moral
Imperatives
"I should learn this list"
"I must not neglect my
studies"
What is the reason you
should, must do this?
Concreteness
Categories
Examples
Emotional Magic
“Your frowning makes
me mad”
Responses
“Specifically, how does
my frowning cause you to
be mad?”
“As long as my teacher is “How, specifically, does
around, I feel happy”
the presence of your
teacher cause you to be
happy?”
“When you frown, I know “How, specifically, do
you hate me”
you know that my
“I know he doesn’t love
frowning means I hate
me”
you?” “Was there ever a
“When he frowns, I know time when he frowned
he hates me”
and he loved you?”
“Have you ever frowned
at someone you love?”
“My wife wants to work. “Do you love your wife
She doesn’t love me”
and also want her to
work?”
Concreteness
Categories
Examples
Responses
Overgeneralizations
“I always have
trouble learning
this kind of
material"
“You never have
learned any kind
of material like
this before
ever?”
“Was there ever
a time when you
didn’t lose an
argument?”
“I always lose
arguments”
Adapted from a table in Cormier and Cormier (1991) from a list compiled by R. Rittenhouse
(personal communication, June 1982) and Bandler and Grinder (1975).