According to Aaron Beck, these patterns of thought lead to errors of cognition about the social reality. Repeated occurrence of these thoughts leads to the development of feelings of anxiety and depression. These pattern of thoughts are called as:

dysfunctional cognitive structures

Cognitive distortions are ways of thinking which are general in nature but which distort the reality in a negative manner. These patterns of thought are called dysfunctional cognitive structures. They lead to errors of cognition about the social reality. Repeated occurrence of these thoughts leads to the development of feelings of anxiety and depression.