For example, imagine two people are intimidated in a bar and only one resorts to becoming angry and punching the antagonist. If emotions were caused solely by events then both would have resorted to violence. Ellis would contend that the two people appraised the provocation in different ways. Each of us establish in the course of our lives a basic understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Therefore people are going to differ with regard to the styles of thinking they engage in on a regular basis.
Some people make very dismal and hopeless interpretations of everything.
Consequently, these people tend to be down more often. Others seem to see provocation in just about everything, and they are therefore angry a good deal of the time. Some people, on the other hand, seem to be able to assess most situations in a manner that rarely makes them experience the extremes of negative emotions. In cognitive therapy, people learn how to pay attention to automatic thoughts and recognize those which are distorted. There are a number of techniques which can be easily implemented when distorted thoughts are identified so that more balanced, realistic interpretations can be discovered.