Jumping to Conclusions: deciding without the facts
Jumping to conclusions is when you make up your mind without having all the facts. Learning to slow down and check the evidence can help you respond more calmly and clearly.
Free to try · Responses are private & encrypted
Related tools
What does the Jumping to Conclusions Mini Course cover?
What jumping to conclusions is, the two main types of mind reading and fortune telling, why the brain fills gaps with negative stories, and how to slow down, check the evidence and sit with not knowing.
Who is this Jumping to Conclusions Mini Course for?
Helpful if you:
💭 Decide what is happening before you have the facts
😟 Assume the worst when someone goes quiet
🔎 Want to check the evidence before reacting
For therapists:
Assign this course as psychoeducation before the Mind Reading and Fortune Telling courses, or on its own when a client jumps to negative conclusions. Their evidence check and reframe give material for session work. Fully HIPAA and GDPR compliant.
Dr Harriet Mellotte
Clinical Psychologist & CBT Therapist, BABCP
“Offload is a fantastic resource for both clients and therapists. The world of CBT has been lacking an app which enables the sharing of CBT worksheets and homework tasks between clients and therapists, but Offload completely does this, making the service we offer more professional and the benefits to clients greater.”
Frequently asked questions
What does jumping to conclusions mean in CBT?
It is a cognitive distortion where the mind fills gaps in information with a negative story. A friend has not texted back, so they must be angry with you. It comes in two main forms: mind reading, assuming you know what others think, and fortune telling, predicting negative outcomes.
Why does my brain jump to negative conclusions?
The brain dislikes uncertainty and prefers a bad answer to no answer. Under stress or low mood it defaults to threat, so the story it fills in is usually negative. Recognising that this is a mental habit rather than insight is the first step to changing it.
How do I stop jumping to conclusions?
Slow down, ask what evidence you actually have, and generate at least two other explanations. Then practise sitting with I do not know, which is uncomfortable but usually more accurate than an anxious guess. The course gives you a structure to work through your own examples.
Can my therapist assign this course?
Yes. Therapists on Offload can assign Jumping to Conclusions as psychoeducation before the Mind Reading and Fortune Telling courses, and your evidence check and reframe give material for session work. Your responses are available for them to review beforehand. Fully HIPAA and GDPR compliant.
Are you a therapist?
Assign this therapy tool and 200+ other interactive tools directly to your clients. Build personalised care plans, customise tools, and review client responses before sessions. HIPAA and GDPR compliant.
Explore Offload for therapistsReferences
So, S. H., et al. (2011). Jumping to Conclusions, a Lack of Belief Flexibility and Delusions. — A large cohort study showing that JTC (limited data gathering before judgments) is a robust reasoning bias, conceptually close to CBT’s idea of cognitive distortion. Beck, A. T. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. Guilford Press. — Classic cognitive therapy work proposing arbitrary inference, a formal CBT definition of drawing conclusions without sufficient evidence (the essence of jumping to conclusions).
