Thought-Shifting

Why start with WTF? (What's the Function?) instead of the thought's truth?

Classic thought records ask whether a thought is accurate. That's useful, but it assumes every distressing thought is believed for the same reason: because it matches the evidence. Bailey and Ciarrochi (2008) suggest treating belief itself as a kind of behaviour that can be reinforced in several different ways, an idea grounded in research on rule-governed behaviour: thoughts can be followed because they seem to track reality, because they carry social consequences, or because they change how urgent or important something feels (Törneke, Luciano, & Salas, 2008; Association for Contextual Behavioral Science). A thought can be believed because it's accurate, but also because it helps someone prepare or solve a problem (Watkins & Baracaia, 2001; Epstude & Roese, 2008), feel more certain (Carleton, 2012), stay braced against disappointment (Newman & Llera, 2011), protect a boundary (Carver & Harmon-Jones, 2009), make a confusing experience feel explained (Park, 2010), preserve a familiar sense of self (Swann, 2012), enforce a standard (Gilbert et al., 2004), or manage a difficult feeling (Wells, 1995; Borkovec, Alcaine, & Behar, 2004; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 2012). There is no single, universally agreed list of these functions, and the categories inevitably overlap in places (staying braced and managing a difficult feeling, for instance, or coherence and self-verification), so WTF? presents them as hypotheses worth sitting with, not a diagnosis the tool has worked out about you. Examining the evidence tends to help most when understanding and prediction really is part of the picture. The WTF? step asks you to notice which of these might apply so the reflection that follows actually fits what's holding the thought in place, instead of arguing with it on the wrong grounds.

What "Shift" means here

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy distinguishes between changing what a thought says and changing how you relate to it, a process called cognitive defusion. Sometimes a more balanced perspective is genuinely available. Other times, the more workable move is to hold the thought a little more lightly and act on what matters anyway, without waiting for it to go away first. This exercise offers both and lets you choose.

Where the questions come from

The Questions step draws on four ways of examining a thought adapted from Psychology Tools' Examining Your Negative Thoughts worksheet (Psychology Tools Limited, 2023): looking at the counter-evidence, weighing its helpfulness, considering other perspectives, and stepping back for the bigger picture. Which of these you're shown is chosen by whichever function or functions you selected in WTF?. A thought maintained mainly by understanding and prediction leans on evidence and the bigger picture, while one maintained mainly by coherence or managing difficult feelings leans on helpfulness and other perspectives instead. One deliberate exception: if certainty and control is among what you selected, counter-evidence questions are left out entirely, even alongside a function that would otherwise include them. This matters most for OCD-like obsessions, where asking "what's the evidence for or against this" tends to feed the search for certainty rather than ease it.

About thinking traps

The optional checklist in the Thought step draws on "thinking traps," also called unhelpful thinking styles or cognitive distortions, a well-established idea from cognitive behavioural therapy (Beck, 1976; Burns, 1980). These describe common patterns a thought can fall into, like all-or-nothing thinking or catastrophizing, and are a different lens from WTF?: naming a pattern isn't about what the thought is doing for you, just what shape it's taking. Selecting one doesn't change which questions you're shown next; it's there to sharpen your own reflection and, if you're working with a therapist, to give you both a shared vocabulary to build on.

Who this can help

This kind of reflection pairs naturally with the therapy approaches described across this site, especially Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It's often a useful companion for perfectionism, shame and self-criticism, people-pleasing, generalized anxiety, and OCD, particularly when a thought's grip seems to be more about staying braced or self-punishment than about accuracy. If a thought brings up more activation in the body than feels manageable to sit with right now, our breathing timer is a good place to start first. For more on the idea behind the WTF? step, see our article on getting “hooked” by your thoughts.

Frequently asked questions

References

• Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
• Padesky, C. A. (1993). Socratic questioning: Changing minds or guiding discovery? Keynote address, European Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies.
• Borkovec, T. D., Alcaine, O., & Behar, E. (2004). Avoidance theory of worry and generalized anxiety disorder.
• Psychology Tools Limited. (2023). Examining Your Negative Thoughts [Worksheet]. psychologytools.com.
• Bailey, A., & Ciarrochi, J. V. (2008). A CBT Practitioner's Guide to ACT: How to Bridge the Gap Between Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. New Harbinger Publications.
• Törneke, N., Luciano, C., & Salas, S. V. (2008). Rule-governed behavior and psychological problems. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 8(2), 141–156.
• Watkins, E., & Baracaia, S. (2001). Why do people ruminate in dysphoric moods? Personality and Individual Differences, 30(5), 723–734.
• Epstude, K., & Roese, N. J. (2008). The functional theory of counterfactual thinking. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12(2), 168–192.
• Carleton, R. N. (2012). The intolerance of uncertainty construct in the context of anxiety disorders: Theoretical and practical perspectives. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 12(8), 937–947.
• Wells, A. (1995). Meta-cognition and worry: A cognitive model of generalized anxiety disorder.
• Newman, M. G., & Llera, S. J. (2011). A novel theory of experiential avoidance in generalized anxiety disorder: A review and synthesis of research supporting a contrast avoidance model of worry. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(3), 371–382.
• Carver, C. S., & Harmon-Jones, E. (2009). Anger is an approach-related affect: Evidence and implications. Psychological Bulletin, 135(2), 183–204.
• Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 257–301.
• Swann, W. B., Jr. (2012). Self-verification theory. In P. A. M. Van Lange, A. W. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 23–42). Sage Publications.
• Gilbert, P., Clarke, M., Hempel, S., Miles, J. N. V., & Irons, C. (2004). Criticizing and reassuring oneself: An exploration of forms, styles and reasons in female students. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 43(1), 31–50.
• Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. Augmenting. contextualscience.org.
• Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders. International Universities Press.
• Burns, D. D. (1980). Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. William Morrow.