Melanie has just received an exam grade in her psychology class.

She earned a grade of 89 percent, which is a B. All of her work during the semester thus far has earned A grades, and she is very upset about the exam score. “This is the worst thing that could possibly have happened,” she laments to her best friend, Keesha, who just rolls her eyes. A cognitive psychologist would suggest that Melanie is employing the cognitive distortion called ______________.

a. all-or-nothing thinking

b. overgeneralization

c. magnification

d. minimization