Episode #129 – 13 Cognitive Distortions Crippling Your Witnesses – Part 2

In the second of a multi-part topic, Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. discuss irrational thinking patterns. Steve and Bill describe how the brain makes connections that may or may not be connected in reality and how that type of irrational thinking can impact witness performance, requiring cognitive reframing to correct these irrational thinking patterns. Bill and Steve have identified 13 cognitive distortions that are crippling your witnesses and cover five additional distortions in this episode:

5) Catastrophizing – when your witness over-exaggerates the value of negative facts in the case, which leads to extreme anxiety; 

6) Personalization – when your witness takes the litigation very personally, forgetting that plaintiff’s counsel is primarily focused on money; 

7) Blaming – when your witness refuses to take any responsibility for their own actions or decisions, and instead blames others at the company or even the plaintiff; 

8) Labeling – when your witness assigns a judgment to themselves based on one negative incident, instead of recognizing that no one is perfect, and that people can make honest mistakes; 

9) Always being right – when your witness has the emotional need to always be right and/or to have an answer to everything; 

10) ‘Should’ statements – when your witness falls into the trap of second guessing themselves regarding past conduct or decision.